I had no connectivity at the hotel last night, have been working full-on all day today, and am shortly going to head out for my (apparently) annual trip to Vlado’s.
Since I start heading back home tomorrow, I’ll also have to pack tonight, so the odds are good that even if the Internet connectivity problem is sorted, I won’t have much time to do anything tonight.
Instead, you can enjoy this picture of Vlado at work:
There’s a lengthy profile of Vlado here, and I’m going to quote some choice bits.
The very first thing that Vlado Gregurek says and he says it with some urgency and insistence: “I would like to point out that I am not a chef, I am just a red meat specialist”.
The real point of the meal and the only point at which you get any choice is between the cuts of meat (fillet, porterhouse and rump) and the degree of cooking.
It is here that Vlado the specialist excells. The quality comes from the carcasses he has selected, aged and cared for. The precision of the cooking comes from the perfect charcoal fire which has been prepared over many hours each morning.
“It’s not important, the most important is that the animal is in its prime when slaughtered. The animal must not be run down, and must be slaughtered in the right conditions. If it is brought up in good conditions and slaughtered properly, without any excitement, then the meat is settled. It is very important, sometimes you see dark meat and the reason is probably that the animal has been disturbed whilst slaughtered.”
“But the material must be perfect, the fire must be perfect, and then we can do the job. You see, now this fire is not breathing any more, is breathing in a very controlled way. Now you see, there is no such thing that you can push, does not mean that the charcoal burns a hundred percent. You can’t push, you can’t force your steak to cook fast”.
