Finding balance on plate: Chef Iñaki Aldrey on art, flavors, and leadership in the kitchen

Looking at the presentation of your dishes, one can immediately see that each plate is a piece of art. How do you find the balance between visual aesthetics and flavor profiles to not only capture the attention of your guests but also make them want to return for more?

For me, presentation matters because it’s the first thing people see, and nowadays everything ends up in photos and on social media, so you have to take care of it. But in the end, flavor is what makes someone want to return. I try to make the visual part support the dish, not overshadow it. I always start with the taste and the idea I want to express, and then I build the presentation around that. When everything is in balance, that’s when a dish really connects with people.

Studying your work, we’ve noticed that you also create fascinating desserts such as mascarpone air, grilled apple tartlet, and toffee ice cream. Kazakh cuisine offers a range of unique local ingredients that could inspire new creations. Based on your experience, what kind of dessert would you make using these local elements?

Kazakhstan has products with a lot of character: really interesting fermented dairy, nuts, intense honeys. With that, I imagine a dessert that plays between acidity and sweetness. Maybe something light, like an airy cream made with one of the local dairy products, with a crunchy touch from the nuts. Something that respects the ingredient but also fits with our style at Atempo.

Chefs are often associated with certain stereotypes shaped by media portrayals and public misconceptions. Having worked in the culinary industry for many years, how would you describe your personal experience when it comes to managing stress, maintaining creativity, and leading a team in a high-pressure environment?

Stress is always there, but you learn to live with it. I keep my creativity alive by travelling, cooking, and talking with my team; they inspire me as much as anything else. When it comes to leadership, I try to be clear and approachable. In the kitchen we all move in the same direction, and if the team is doing well, service goes well. It’s a people's job, not just technique. If we don’t work comfortably, that eventually shows on the plate.

Every chef has a moment of reflection on how they got here. If you hadn’t pursued a career as a chef, what other path do you think you might have chosen, and why?

Probably something creative as well, or something that involved working with my hands. I’ve always liked the motor world, and carpentry too. Honestly, from a very young age I knew my place was in a kitchen. As a kid, the moment I enjoyed most in the day was preparing a dessert in the afternoon so we could have it later at home with my parents and sister. That routine of looking for recipes and trying different desserts eventually pushed me into cooking savory dishes too, so I could create more things and add my own touch.

Finally, after all the precision and discipline of fine dining, what’s your own guilty pleasure—something you turn to simply for comfort and enjoyment?

Something very simple: I love a good Spanish tortilla. It fascinates me that with just potatoes, oil, eggs (and always onion), you can get such a mix of textures. After cooking so much fine dining, sometimes what you want in your free time is something straightforward and comforting.

Earlier, Qazinform shared an interview with three-Michelin-star chef Paolo Romano.