Nothing is for free!

By: Trademagazin editor Date: 2023. 07. 28. 11:53

Chef Roland Oláh moved to New York in 2009. In the first two years our magazine followed his adventures, and now it is time to catch up with him…

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2023/6-7.

„I keep pushing the gas pedal hard”

– How are you?

– The last time I took a break was 6 years ago, when I went to Florida with my family. Work comes before everything else, but I am 46 years old now, and I have to accept the fact that one day I will have to pay a price for this crazy schedule.

– There are many difficult years behind you!

– It was 14 years ago that we moved here, and I had many great experiences, but I still haven’t realised my main goal: opening my own restaurant. In 2019, when I gave Bruxelles restaurant a go with my 20% ownership share, I was really satisfied. But I am not a businessman, just a chef – last year it turned out, what I had was only enough for more work.

– What do you do now?

– I am chasing my dream! I promised Eric – I used to work with him in Martell – that I will spend a year with him, so I am the executive chef of a French bistro now.

– What is going to be your next move?

– It very much depends on where my daughter, Bogi will continue her studies – she is going to finish high school next year. If she is going to university here, we will stay in the USA: in Europe a chef can’t earn enough to pay the American tuition fees. I might start something in Europe, but it is unlikely that I will return to Hungary.

An unmissable way of relaxation and eternal hobby: fishing

– In what ways are you better now than you were 15 years ago?

– I have been a restaurant chef for 30 years, and the way I cook today is completely different from when I was one of the top 25 chefs in Hungary. Endless shifts in the kitchen, experience and routine – it wasn’t by accident that I won lots of awards.

– Which style do you represent?

– I really like this trendy Ducasse-style “simplicity”, I firmly believe that maximum five ingredients are enough on that plate, and if there are more, there is a very good chance that the guest won’t understand my concept.

Family’s the most important: Roland and his daughter Bogi, whose further studies will decide on how to go on

– What would you do differently if you could start again?

– I wouldn’t do anything differently professionally, but I would definitely spend more time with my family. My advice to chefs back home: go abroad, learn new things and learn a language – and it is best to do these before you have a family. //