by Ana Meiță
The young talented chef has worked all over the world - from Zurich to Lima but his inspiration is really the simplicity and excellence of Japanese Cuisine.
We first came across
Filyov when we booked our Boutique Hotel’s gourmet restaurant at Black Sea Rama
Golf Club for convenience’ sake. Expecting a good dinner accompanied by some
nice wine, we were all blown away by not only the flavour and textures but also
by the atmosphere, preparation and presentation.
Chef Filyov where
does your passion for food come from?
My passion for food
came naturally and somewhat surprisingly. It was never a dream of mine to
become a chef. After I finished 7th grade I had to continue my
education and I had to choose the next step - choose a professional school. At
that time my grades were mediocre, but still good enough to have nice options.
One of the options was the Sofia Professional School of Tourism. I don’t know
why but I put the school on top of my wish list ( call it fate ). I
applied and got accepted first time around. Initially, I didn’t like the
cooking lessons at school and didn’t want to become a chef, but everything
changed after my first mandatory internship. As soon as I set foot in a
professional kitchen I felt at home and I that’s how my passion for cooking and
food came about.
What is your
earliest culinary memory?
My first memory in the kitchen was when I was 7 or 8 and helped my mother bake our traditional Bulgarian Easter bread called kozunak. We had been working on that bread the whole day, then we put it in the oven, and went on to get dressed and get ready to go to church at midnight, as it is customary in Bulgaria. Long story short we burnt the kozunak, but still went ahead and enjoyed it. A great memory remained from that day.
How and where did
you start your career?
I was only fourteen
when I had my first day in a professional kitchen as a pastry stagier in a
restaurant in Sofia. I didn’t want the job since, as I said, I didn’t want to
become a chef, but it was mandatory and I am grateful to this day that that was
the case. During my time there I was responsible to help the pastry chef with
baking and assembling cakes.
Did you have any
pushback from your friends or family when choosing this path?
No, my family and
friends were always supportive of me and right now, some of my best friends are
people from the industry, for which I am forever grateful.
Do you ever feel
like giving up, since it’s such a difficult and competitive industry to work
in, with long hours and mostly difficult working environments?
It may sound
strange, but no, never. I have a very big pressure tolerance and also I really
love what I do. There were certain times when I felt I didn’t belong in certain
places, but I just changed restaurants and the feeling went away.
How do you keep
the passion alive?
I have found that
for me the best thing is to keep learning and trying new things. I love
developing new dishes and concepts. Working with amazing people and produce
also helps to keep my passion alive.
”I don’t want to sound arrogant but I don’t look up to anyone. I get inspired by a lot of people in the industry, but I don’t put anybody on a pedestal.”
How do you keep a
team motivated, in harmony but also disciplined?
Well that is a
complex question. Working with people is really challenging and also very
rewarding if you are ready to invest in them. By invest I don’t mean only money
but also time and purpose. In the modern world as a Chef you need to be more
than a good cook and leader, you need to be like a therapist. Each and every
one of us has a different character and temper and you need to be able to
communicate properly with different personalities. Some fold under pressure,
but some thrive. As a Chef we need to find the right path to each individual in
our team and to get the best out of them.
Is passion less
important than discipline in this cut-throat business and specific environment?
In our world
discipline is key. You can have all the passion in the world, but if you don’t
put that passion at work you will get nowhere. The kitchen is a hard
environment and even the most passionate get tired and that’s where the
discipline kicks in.
The concept of the restaurant is to showcase the biodiversity of Peru and to preserve the ancient traditions of the country.
Which kitchen was your favourite kitchen to work in and why?
My favourite kitchen
was the kitchen of Central in Peru. I could talk all day about that kitchen,
but I will try to simplify it in 2-3 sentences. Firstly : the team and the
people, there were people from all parts of the world and every single one of
them was there with one goal – to push themselves to be the best possible
version of themselves. Secondly, the ingredients - produce was incredible. From
the tastiest vegetables and fruit to the freshest seafood in the world. And the
final thing I will say is the aim of the restaurant and the mentality of the
owner – Virgilio Martinez. The concept of the restaurant is to showcase the
biodiversity of Peru and to preserve the ancient traditions of the country.
You have worked
in various kitchens across the globe, how do you relate to the cuisine you grew
up with and do you try and integrate it in your dishes?
I love the food that
I grew up with, but I try not to limit myself to only cooking Bulgarian
cuisine. I try to integrate certain flavours from my childhood rather than
whole dishes, with techniques and ingredients that have influenced me during my
career and travels. Something I like doing is working with Bulgarian
ingredients and building off those new tastes. A good example is the Trahana
with Black sea Mussels from the current menu of the restaurant. I integrated a
traditional Japanese dashi made out of dried mussels and then cooked the
trahana in the same dashi to infuse it with flavour. This is an example of how
I use Bulgarian ingredients and transform them with a Japanese technique.
How would you
describe the food you create in your kitchen right now?
I would describe the
food as tasty. I do not limit myself while creating a menu, rather I am driven
by one goal – would I order this and would I like it if I were the one sitting
down at the restaurant table. I get inspired by ingredients around me, then I
build the dish and if the dish meets the criteria mentioned just now, it makes
it onto the menu.
Who do you look up within the gastronomy world and why?
I don’t want to
sound arrogant but I don’t look up to anyone. I get inspired by a lot of people
in the industry, but I don’t put anybody on a pedestal.
If I were you I
would run, not walk and book a table at Black Sea Rama’s restaurant to taste
Chef Filyov’s dishes before there’s a one year waitlist and he has reached the
heights I believe he will. Book at : Black Sea Rama Boutique Hotel.
