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Michelin-starred Italian chef Adriano Baldassarre's take on good cooking

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Salmon tartare with truffle (oil and shavings), pork belly cooked in Peroni, mozzarella bruschetta, poached egg with asparagus—these bite-sized appetisers typically accompanied by drinks are the contemporary stylings of Chef Adriano Baldassarre, who ensures that guests at Vetro, The Oberoi, Nariman Point get a taste of authentic Italian cuisine.

As a child, he wanted to be a doctor, a butcher or a chef, but by the time he was 10 and had made his first Milanesa, Adriano was sure he was born to be a chef. So at 14, he went to culinary school and started working summers at restaurants. His first professional kitchen experience involved cleaning "maybe 50 kilos" of calamari, but the sinkfull of decapods didn't deter him. He went on with Michelin-starred chefs across Europe before opening his own restaurant Il Tordo Matto, in 2004. He still remembers the "beautiful day"—27th November 2007—when his restaurant won its first Michelin star.

"When you decide on something, stick to it and accomplish your goal, it makes you very happy," Adriano tells us. "This happiness lasts for 10 minutes; then there's another goal," he laughs.He thinks the best part about being a chef is that "you never have to retire, because it's not a job, it's a passion". So what's the worst part about being a chef? "You need to ask a chef's wife, because the chef is never home," he suggests."Keep it simple!" is his life's philosophy. The chef who has recently developed a liking for Rogan Gosht, even if he "has to shower four times after eating it",believes that his biggest challenge is understanding what his teammates are good at and getting the best out of them. This simplicity transcends to his food; "tomatoes must taste like tomatoes," shares the chef whose cooking style involves "three contrasting ingredients".

He has a light hand with spices, going by the salmon tatare and pork belly we tasted. While the asparagus and poached egg was sumptuous to the yolk, Indians may find the mozzarella bruschetta with piped dots of carrot, garlic and basil sauces rather bland.

"Anyone can cook, not everyone can cook good food," he remarks when asked if anyone can cook. But fret not, ye aspiring master chefs, on further probing for the secret ingredient of a great dish, he reveals, "If you put your heart into the dish, you'll end up with a dish you love."

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