DUBAI: Bolivian chef Andres Marcelo began his culinary journey aged 13, cooking for friends, family, and as the dedicated cook for his Boy Scouts troop.  

“It was always a hobby. I always enjoyed it. For me, cooking was about bringing together people, enjoying moments, and the social aspect of cooking,” he tells Arab News. 

And for a while it seemed as if a hobby was all cooking would be for him.  

“I come from a middle, upper-class family, and it’s not traditional to choose a career in the service or hospitality industry,” Marcelo explains. He did four years of civil engineering but realized it was not the career he wanted. 

At 20, he opened an online gaming cafe. To persuade his guests to stay longer, he started making food for them. It was then that he decided to enroll in a three-year culinary arts program in Argentina.  

Since then, he has traveled to 13 countries, training in prestigious restaurants, including three-Michelin-starred establishments in Spain and Japan. His career began in 2013 at Grand Hyatt Dubai, and he is now the executive chef of The St. Regis Red Sea Resort.  

Here, he discusses his favorite dish and his top tips for amateur chefs. He also shares a recipe for short rib tacos.   

When you started out, what was the most common mistake you made?  

Not paying attention and not really being aware of the environment around me. I used to burn myself a lot, and I still have a couple of marks that remind me to not rush myself, even if it’s busy. You have to take a moment to plan and to organize yourself. As long as you have your mise en place ready, you’ll always be fine — that means, for example, having your spoon in the right place for when you need it, and having something to hold hot items with.  

What’s your top tip for amateur chefs? 

Always have a sharp knife. If you have a dull knife, you’re more likely to hurt yourself, because you will have to use a lot more pressure, and then, if the knife slips, you’ll get hurt. With a sharp knife, you barely need to put any effort in to cut things. So always have a sharp knife. And always taste your food. You cannot serve something if you don’t taste it.  

What one ingredient can instantly improve any dish?  

I love lemon zest. It goes in both savory and sweet preparations, and it really brings up a lot of flavors.  

When you go out to eat, do you find yourself critiquing the food? 

Not really. Food is very subjective. If someone puts something in front of me, I’d think that they think it tastes good to them. I might comment on something technical — like if I order a medium steak and it comes well done — but I don’t comment on the taste or the composition of a dish, because, like I said, cooking is very subjective. Something that I find delicious might not be for others. I remember I used to have a chef who didn’t like coriander at all. I love the taste of coriander, especially in Asian cuisine. But if I presented a dish with coriander in it to this chef, he wouldn’t like it.  

What’s the most common issue you find in other restaurants? 

Since the pandemic, I feel staff are not paying enough attention to the guests. There is a major shortage of staff all over the world in hospitality, in restaurants. We’re overworking them. Sometimes restaurants now might have one waiter serving 10 tables. This is the big mistake that is happening in the industry now.  

What’s your favorite cuisine? 

I love Asian cuisine. It takes me back to my childhood. At least once a week, we would go out for Chinese food — well, Chinese-Bolivian food to be exact. Then, when I started traveling and I went to Japan and China, it was something completely different. I love the taste. I love the flavors and the textures. Dumplings are one of the best. I could eat dumplings every day.  

What’s your go-to dish if you have to cook something quickly at home?  

I’d do a mushroom risotto or a pasta carbonara — something simple with no more than five ingredients. If you have guests, they’ll never be upset with a nice mushroom risotto. 

What customer request most annoys you? 

When people disrespect the staff. This is what annoys me most. 

What’s your favorite dish to cook?  

My favorite is paella. My dad, being Spanish, used to cook very good paella. He learned from my grandfather. One of my earliest memories of being in a kitchen is helping him to prepare this dish. So, I really enjoy cooking paella or ceviche. That’s also something we used to cook together. It brings back fond memories of my childhood and being with my father. 

What’s the most difficult dish for you to get right?  

I would say the most difficult things are the simplest things. Like, spaghetti with tomato sauce can be the trickiest, because everyone has eaten spaghetti with tomato sauce, so they will compare your dish with all the others they’ve tried and with what they think is the best. Now, being in the Middle East, and in Saudi Arabia, if you make a dish that their mothers used to make a lot, let’s say, they’ll compare it to what they love. So, for me, the most complicated thing to do is to cook the best version of something that’s local. You’re trying to beat the fond memories before you create a new one.  

As a head chef, what are you like? Do you shout a lot? 

Discipline is very important in the kitchen, but I don’t think that being disciplined means you can’t be kind and respectful. I very rarely shout. It would have to be something really, really, really, really, really, really bad for me to get upset and get to that point. I’m a very patient person. For me, it’s about respect. And that comes from both sides. If you respect your team, your team will respect you back. It’s all about working together. The kitchen is not a one-person show. You cannot do everything on your own. If you create an environment where the team are not happy, they will certainly not give good food.  

I’ve worked in places where everyone shouts. People still work, but it’s not sustainable. In the long run, people get tired and frustrated. People need to come into an environment where they are happy to work.  

Chef Andres Marcelo’s short rib tacos recipe  

For the short rib 

INGREDIENTS:  

4kg short rib; 40g salt; 20g black pepper, freshly crushed; 150g butter 

INSTRUCTIONS:  

1. Rub the salt, pepper and butter into the meat. Let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. 

2. Preheat oven to 220C. 

3. Cover the meat in aluminum foil and cook for 20 minutes. 

4. Reduce heat to 110C and cook for 4 hours.  

5. Uncover the meat and remove the bones. If the meat doesn’t pull off the bone easily, cook for another hour at 110C. 

6. Place the meat aside for later use. 

For the wheat tortilla 

INGREDIENTS:  

800g all-purpose flour; 3.5g salt; 100g warm water; 100g corn oil 

INSTRUCTIONS: 

1. Mix the salt, flour and corn oil until it becomes crumbly. 

2. Slowly mix in the water to form the dough. 

3. Cover with a damp cloth for 20 minutes. 

4. Divide the mixture into three. 

5. Roll out each piece of dough into a 12cm-diameter circle. 

6. Cook both sides of each piece of dough in a hot non-stick pan. 

For the guacamole 

INGREDIENTS: 

4 ripe Hass avocados; Juice of 2 limes; 3g fresh coriander, chopped; salt and pepper to taste 

INSTRUCTIONS: 

1. Crush the avocado pulp roughly. 

2. Add the lime juice and the chopped coriander. 

3. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

For the pico de gallo 

INGREDIENTS:  

200g tomato, chopped; 4g fresh coriander, chopped; juice of 1 lime; 100g red onion, chopped; 1 pickled jalapeno, chopped; salt and pepper to taste 

INSTRUCTIONS:  

Mix all ingredients and reserve for later use. 

For the final dish 

INGREDIENTS: 

250g of the short rib meat; 3 of the homemade tortillas; 60g guacamole; 40g pico de gallo; 10g fresh cheese of your choice, grated; 20g pickle onion; 3 grilled limes; 2 grilled chilis; 5g fresh coriander  

INSTRUCTIONS: 

1. Top the tortillas with the warm meat. 

2. Top with guacamole, pico de gallo, pickled onion, and coriander. 

3. Serve with extra pico de gallo, cheese, guacamole, limes, and chilis.