Hotel crillon CHEF EXÉCUTIF - Boris Campanella
Chef. Boris Campanella
Q. Hello, Chef Boris Campanella.
It’s a pleasure to meet you.
Could you briefly introduce yourself?
Hello, I’m Boris Campanella.
I’m the Executive Chef of the five-star palace
hotel Hôtel de Crillon in France.
Q. You have such a warm and kind presence.
I’ll start with ten interesting questions—
are you ready?
Yes, I’m ready. Let’s begin.
Q. First question.
If I could taste your blood,
what would it taste like?
Vegetables.
Maybe vegetable stock.
In my kitchen, we use a wide variety of vegetables,
and I eat them a lot because I truly enjoy them.
Q. Second question.
Is there a dish that made you fall in love with
cooking for the first time?
Poulet rôti—French-style roast chicken.
It was the dish my grandmother used to
make for me when I was very young.
Perfectly roasted chicken, smooth mashed potatoes,
and the juices released while roasting the chicken,
reduced into a rich sauce and mixed into the purée—
when you take a bite of everything together,
it’s absolutely delicious.
I believe our profession as chefs is born
from these kinds of memories and emotions.
That is the true foundation of what we do.
Q. Third question.
If God were to offer you any dish you
wanted right now, what would you ask for?
Right now… that’s quite a surprising question.
I think I would choose bread and olive oil.
Perfectly made bread and the freshest,
highest-quality olive oil from Sicily.
Q. Sounds delicious. Fourth question:
If you had to eat only one type of food
every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Only one? Really just one?
In the past, I might have chosen sausage,
but today I’d go with fish. Turbot.
Grilled, steamed, poached, even as ceviche—
I could enjoy it in many different ways.
Q. Haha, very much a chef’s answer.
So, fifth question: If love were a dish, what would it be?
That’s… an extremely difficult question.
I think it would be a game meat steak served
with foie gras and truffle.
The sauce would need to be made with a lot of care and soul.
To add a slightly bitter, deep note, I’d include a touch of whisky.
If love were a dish, I imagine it would be
something very intense and powerful.
Q. So love is a dish with a bold, intense flavor.
That brings us to the sixth question.
Since we’re talking about love, let’s imagine this:
You have a date tomorrow night with your dream partner.
What would you cook to make her fall in love?
I would prepare lobster à la plancha.
I’d serve it with sauce vierge.
It’s a fresh, tangy sauce made with confit tomatoes,
basil, onion, garlic, and lemon—
it pairs beautifully with seafood.
And of course, I wouldn’t forget premium Sicilian olive oil.
Q. A dish that’s impossible not to fall in love with.
Now, seventh question—this one will be difficult.
Were the previous questions easy?
Q. Haha, yes—those were all very easy questions.
Let’s imagine something else.
You’re given the chance to use a time machine.
You travel back and meet your younger self—
little Boris, during the saddest
and most difficult period of his life.
To give him energy and hope,
what would you cook for him?
When I’m going through a hard time, I usually crave red meat.
So if I met my younger self during that difficult period,
I’d prepare filet de bœuf en croûte—
beef tenderloin baked in pastry—
and grate a generous amount of fresh truffle over it.
I’d serve it with a sauce reduced with port and cognac.
That would give him strength.
Q. Eighth question.
If you had to marry one cooking ingredient, what would it be?
I would marry olive oil.
Olive oil has everything—
softness, spiciness, rich fruitiness, deep and intense flavors.
It’s incredibly versatile and works beautifully
with almost any dish.
Q. Haha. Ninth question: If the world were ending tomorrow,
what would you eat for dinner tonight?
If we were all going to die tomorrow,
what would be your final meal?
I would choose Baba au Rhum.
A brioche soaked generously in high-quality rum,
topped with plenty of cream.
Q. A perfect dessert to say goodbye to the world.
Now the final question—
something I’m truly curious about.
If you were a dish, what would you be?
That’s a really difficult question.
I think I’d be a ribeye steak.
I considered fish for a moment, but no—that’s not me.
Fish? No, I don’t want to be fish. So I choose meat.
A high-quality, generously sized ribeye steak.
Q. Haha, a hearty cut of meat suits
you much better than fish.
Thank you so much for taking part in this interview, Chef.