Chef Antonio Park stopped by Global News on Friday to guest host Global News Morning with anchor Laura Casella and weather specialist Kim Sullivan.
Park is the chef and owner at Park Restaurant in Montreal.
He also currently serves as a judge on Chopped Canada.
To get to know Park a little better we asked him a few questions.
What country serves your favorite food??
Japan. They don’t mix flavours and they don’t mix types of food.
For example, if I’m a sushi guy, I’ll devote my life to sushi. They concentrate on one thing and they master that craft. They don’t try to expand their field too much. They try to stay focused on what they do.
What’s the hardest dish to make?
Every simple dish is the hardest to make. Simplicity is hard to accomplish. When it’s simple you can’t hide your ingredients, you can’t hide your techniques and knowledge.
What’s the best way for someone to learn how to cook?
You have to understand your culture. Without understanding your culture you won’t be able to cook. If you don’t understand the culture of France, how would you be able to understand French food?
Another way to learn is by repetition, keep on practicing it because anybody can cook.
How often do you work on perfecting your dishes?
I work on it every day. I’ve been working on nigiri for 15 years and I’m still learning. The word perfection does not exist. We are trying to get closer to perfection. If perfection existed and we achieved it, then life would be boring.
Who’s your inspiration?
My mom. From day one she was my inspiration. From growing stuff, picking stuff, gardening stuff. Even today my mom will never give me a family recipe it’s just something I have to watch and learn myself. I always tell my mom ‘you can give it to me, I can try to make it better but she doesn’t understand that.’
What goes into making a good dish/meal?
Love. Nothing else. Love makes everything beautiful.
How do you judge what’s a good dish?
I judge something by understanding the flavours. The flavours that we know salty, sweet, spicy, acid and umami. If you taste something and it’s too sweet then they fail. There must be a balance of all the tastes.