Behind the Knife - tools, food, and the secret lives of chefs

Chef Profile: Roberto Treviño

Simple Is Best

Told you, third time’s a charm.

My third scheduled profile of a contestant from the current season of The Next Iron Chef did not — I repeat, did not — get booted off the show, as did Eric Greenspan and Holly Smith.

Though I have to admit, I was holding my breath when the judges referred to Roberto Treviño’s Meatloaf Dumplings as “gummy and hard.”

When he received Alton Brown’s blessing, “You live to cook another day,” the relief on his face was evident.

And mine.

The Chef: Roberto Treviño, executive chef and owner of Budatai in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The Toolbox: In an interview conducted before the first episode was taped — back when he could still joke around and present a calm façade, unaware of the pressures and challenges that lurked right around the corner — Treviño said, “My culinary style is to use great ingredients, but keeping it simple is key.” This much is obvious when I queried him about his toolbox: “I use a three-compartment knife roll.” That’s it.

The Sentimental Tool: It’s clear that Treviño chops to a different drummer than his fellow competitors when he chose not to single out any one tool as possessing more meaning than another. Instead, he revealed that he not only didn’t play favorites, but that his tools assumed a deeper meaning for him. “All of my knives are of great spiritual value to me,” he confessed.

The Long-Lost Tool: What is it with all of the scimitars in the past week? Treviño said the one tool that grew legs that he misses most was his much-cherished Forschner Scimitar , a tool he bought when he was 17 years old and just learning how to butcher. What happened to it? “It was stolen by an enemy cooking crew!” he said. Maybe if he had another back then, he could have threatened the light-fingered rogues.

The Strangest Thing in His Toolbox: In keeping with his more spiritual side, Treviño admits that the most unusual item in his knife roll is not along the lines of a You’re Kidding, Right? tool, but a small stash of mementos. “Good-luck charms, if you will,” he says. “My tools are a part of everything I am in the kitchen.”

The Professional Analysis: Here, Treviño is similar to other chefs in that he admits to a passion for order. “A psychologist would probably say I have some sort of obsessive-compulsive disorder by the preciseness of where everything is and MUST be,” he admits. “I could pull any knife out with my eyes closed.” Even a scimitar. Or a rabbit’s foot.

Thou Shalt Not Covet Another Chef’s Tools: Treviño realizes the power a toolbox has to reveal everything about a chef, competitor or not, good-luck charms or hatchets. “To know a chef’s toolbox is to know their secrets, strengths and weaknesses,” he said.

In the end, maybe Treviño should add an Evil Eye to his collection of good-luck trinkets in order to keep the demons at bay in future competitions.