Sergey Cutenco, chef and consultant at Old Bus Gastro Pub in Chișinău, grew up traveling with his parents and watching chefs at work. He favors European cuisine with a homemade touch.
For me, real fun means lively music, the bright colors of an autumn garden and loud conversations! That's how I remember it from my earliest childhood, and that's how I treat my guests. My name is Sergey Cutenco, and I am chef and consultant at the Old Bus Gastro Pub restaurant in Chișinău.
I was born and raised in a friendly, close-knit family. We had a tiny kitchen with steamy windows and appetizing smells I could catch even from the yard outside, and my mom, who inspired me toward a bright culinary future.
I'm really proud of my parents: besides raising me, they showed me the world. As a child I traveled with them, and we visited cafés and restaurants, which was quite unusual for that time. I was amazed by every movement of the chef, and my inner desire to master this art kept growing.
So choosing the right profession wasn't hard for me. Straight after secondary school I entered a culinary college to master the basic culinary skills.
Did I face any difficulties? Of course I did, and I didn't get everything I wanted either. All of this together motivated me to keep studying and to improve my skills again and again.
I fearlessly took on the most difficult tasks, ones that seemed almost impossible. Cleaning two bathtubs full of live fish was easy for me! Settling into the hot section of a kitchen in a foreign country and town in just three days was easy too! I'm still so young, but I already have plenty of stories to tell about my work, which is varied, hard, exciting and always interesting.
Experience never comes by itself; it is always unique and dynamic. Of course, I follow culinary trends and “fashion,” constantly learning and trying new things and then sharing them with my team. As I see it, that's the only way to be a real chef.
I respect the culinary traditions of other nations, so I try to cook dishes from every cuisine. My favorite cuisine is European, but with homemade touches, as if a loving mom had cooked it. I like Asian cuisine for being spicy and rich. I'm crazy about combinations of hot and sweet flavors, bright colors and tempting aromas.
It's hardly possible to describe in a few words my path of study, growth and mistakes, the sparkling eyes of my daughter when we meet, or the noisy parties with old friends at my summer house. All of this is my life, and I'm really glad to share part of it with the restaurant's guests through the dishes I cook for them.
And speaking of dishes, I've cooked you peppers stuffed with Moldovan cabbage rolls, and Milina. These are the culinary symbols of my country, served at every holiday and party in Moldova!
