Ana Ros, the world’s best female chef 2017, on how skiing and dancing inform her cooking
- A childhood of competitive sports proved fundamental for the innovative, self-taught Slovenian chef
- When Ros took over the kitchen at Hisa Franko with no knowledge of cooking, she ‘just jumped into the water and swam’
What did you eat as a child? “I was into sports and dancing, so I ate whatever my mother considered healthy and appropriate for an active child: a lot of raw vegetables, pure proteins like cottage cheese, fresh ricotta or quickly grilled fish, and fruit. I learned to eat everything.”
How did you get into the Yugoslavian youth national ski team? “I was six years old and on the first day of primary school we had to run. I forgot to bring my gym clothes and running shoes so I ran in my jeans and T-shirt with normal shoes. I didn’t realise how fast I was – I thought I’d got lost because I couldn’t find anyone. People who focus on sports spotted me and proposed to my father to have me ski. I can’t say I loved skiing, but I was good.”
And you danced as well? “Two years later, I started doing contemporary dance along with skiing. It’s a weird combination muscle-wise and it drove my ski trainers crazy angry. Everybody talks about my skiing, but my dancing was incredible – I was spotted by an American dancer who liked my movement because I had a very athletic body. I was also good at improvisation, which is perfect for the [Merce] Cunningham technique.”
Which did you like more? “Dancing was my choice and skiing was everyone else’s choice. I hated the minus 20 degrees Celsius weather; my fingers were blue. Alpine skiing requires a lot of physical effort, it requires no fear, because your body reaches 140km/h and you have nothing to protect you. Slalom races are super quick, which means super-quick thinking, resolving problems quickly. But when you reach super speeds, one little mistake could mean an accident.”
The best thing a chef can do is give a piece of himself to a client
How did you meet your husband, Valter Kramar? “After I finished studying diplomacy at university, my parents took me to dinner at Hisa Franko, when Valter’s parents ran it. Valter was serving us. I was bored, so he said, ‘Let’s go for a cigarette and a glass of wine,’ and the next day we had a date. Later I decided not to pursue a career in diplomacy and stay in the [Soca] valley.”