TO Emilio Garip he always liked to eat well. She inherited it from her Spanish, Italian and Arab ancestors in Río Cuarto, his hometown. From her maternal grandmother he learned the secrets of cooking and with her he took his first steps. At eight or nine years old, he already knew how to make Bechamel sauce, he recalls. In ’65 he came with his family to live in the Once neighborhood. At that time they used to go with his father to the Spinetto shopping mall, where Tony Mellino’s fishmonger was and a pizzeria with a luxury canchera pizza. Another of her memories.
He could have been a professional cook, but the family mandate led him to become an accountant. Over time, he had a takeaway house with his wife and in ’86 he opened Oviedo in North Quarter. This Mediterranean food restaurant is considered one of the best in the city due to the excellence of its cuisine and its cava. Garip steers him like a helmsman on a luxury ship. It is his passion, his love and his home. Feelings that he shares with his son Sebastián and with his wife Cristina, with whom he has been married for 44 years.
News: How would you describe your relationship with gastronomy?
Emilio Garip: Passion and love and a way of life.
News: Why do you like it so much?
Garip: It is a way of expression. When I cook at home I want to do things right. The greatest pleasure is that people like it.
News: You will agree with those who say that cooking is an art form.
Garip: Cooking is an art, which is generally learned at home. Almost all great chefs had a grandmother or mother who cooked. The grandmothers had a lot to do with it.
News: In your case too.
Garip: Yes, my mom died young and my grandmother raised us. She was a great cook. We were three brothers and she gave us all the pleasure. I cooked what I could next to her, I learned to make a béchamel when I was little, at eight or nine years old. She had a hand. And many years later I met my mother-in-law who was also a great cook. With two nonsense she made wonderful ravioli. The two formed me. And my paternal grandfather had a bakery. He was an Arab and he cooked delicious things, I remember the kepe he made with a mortar. The whole family liked to eat well.
News: Do you remember what they ate?
Garip: In Río Cuarto we ate shellfish that they brought from Mar del Plata. They bought barrels of wine in Mendoza and bottled them. There was a whole cult, they made paella, black rice. My maternal grandmother cooked Italian and Spanish meals. Christmas gatherings, lots of people and everyone eating well. It was a cult.
News: Have you ever thought of being a professional cook?
Garip: YepBut my wife never let me be a cook because she said it was a lot of sacrifice.
News: At some point he decided to be an accountant.
Garip: Those things that the family induces you, study a career. That way he would have been a great artist or a cook. I came to practice as an accountant, but little, in small businesses.
News: Returning to gastronomy. What do you cook at home?
Garip: What the family likes. I make my mother-in-law’s recipes, roasts, pasta, rice, milanesas. Very tasty food accompanied by a very good wine.
News: What is Oviedo for you?
Garip: It is my home. It’s almost 37 years. In addition, I bring together my wife, my son, the whole family and this family of the restaurant that is very important, that of the boys of the team who also feel at home. One is the boss, but he is like a father. I am the helmsman, the one who keeps the course, because the deviation is very easy.
News: His son is too. No?
Garip: Yes, Sebastián is a sommelier and he deals with wines. Also, he is a musician. Ramón Chiliguay has also been here since ’86, he is the head chef.
News: How do you manage to sustain a business for so many years and in such a complicated country?
Garip: With quality, quality, quality. People can complain about the price, but those of us who have a good restaurant buy chernia, sole or saffron or such mushrooms or Italian tomatoes that people don’t buy there because they are very expensive. We buy the same. We buy quality, with quality a good cook does wonders. And the wines we have. It is also important to know and have good taste. In addition, having staff with a vocation that knows how to do things, good management and very good administration.
News: Do you do the shopping?
Garip: Yes, once a week I get up at four in the morning and go to the Central Market. We have different suppliers, the fish are from Mar del Plata and the south, the meat comes from La Plata, from Cabaña Juramento in Zárate and from Mar del Plata, the lambs are from the south and the cheeses are from different places.
News: What dishes should be tried in Oviedo?
Garip: The fish, our cuttlefish are famous, of very good quality, they come from the Malvinas. We make everything very tasty, you eat a Milanese or an omelette and they are very good. I always tried to make simple meals very well. I would also recommend the paella and the risottos. The issue is not believing that you reached the goal or heaven. Always keep improving and looking for the best product. I am a big fan of food, I like to eat well.
News: An important added value of this restaurant is the cellar.
Garip: Today our cellar has around thirty thousand high-end bottles and then there are the normal wines, which are all very good. It is the care and guard of years and years.
News: What pearls do you have?
Garip: Among the foreigners I have verticals from Vega Sicilia and French ones like Chateau D’Yquen. I have Cobos, the entire line of Cheval Des Andes, Rutini vintages, a lot of Zuccardi, Per Se, a sought after wine because there is very little. I have the best Argentine wines kept at fourteen degrees, in silence and darkness.
News: You are passionate about ports.
Garip: I love ports and sweet wines and sherries, which are fabulous. A dry oloroso is the best accompaniment for a ham.
News: What wines would you choose for a good meal?
Garip: I like to start with white wine, a Chardonnay, a Semillon, depending on the dishes. Then I continue with reds, in general the best are the blends and I finish with a champagne or a sparkling wine.
News: This is all very nice, but gastronomic work has a b-side. It is very demanding, stressful, there are no schedules.
Garip: Outdated schedules with everyone. The worst of all is when everything starts to break and you have no way to fix it, because there are no spare parts or whatever. The cook broke the grill or the oven and jumps. We even do laundry here.
News: There is also a space for art in his restaurant. There are many paintings on display.
Garip: I always really liked art. They are all my paintings, from my collection. They don’t fit anymore.
News: He has other hobbies: music, mathematics and gardening.
Garip: It’s true. Math keeps you awake and is critical to business. Here if you do not manage well, you melt. We were able to survive the crises with good stewardship and support from my family and staff. In the case of the pandemic, we learned to work with delivery. I always liked music, classical, jazz, romantic, everything. And I also like gardening a lot. My wife loves it, she is a fan of flowers.
News: He leads a life with his wife. No?
Garip: Yes, we’ve been married since ’79. To sustain a marriage for so many years there must be love, respect, admiration and then it is easier. We are partners, we like to travel, eat well, walk, walk through the cities, sit in a cafe and enjoy the moment.
News: What are your favorite places?
Garip: Spain and Italy. I really like Madrid, San Sebastián, Jerez. From Italy I really like Sicily and Bologna drives me crazy. And we love going to Bariloche.
News: Do you eat well in Argentina?
Garip: Very good and there is a movement of young chefs who traveled, did internships abroad, came back and are cooking here. Not only in Buenos Aires, in Mendoza and other places in the interior there are good references. Our kitchen today is one of the best in the world.
News: What do you think of the nominations and awards given in gastronomy? Do you trust those criteria?
Garip: I don’t believe in a better one because there are many very good ones. It is very difficult to choose. We were three times among the 50 best restaurants in Latin America. But how do you choose 50 from Latin America and 50 from the world when there are thousands of restaurants. I think choosing only 50 is too little.
News: And what do you think of reality shows like MasterChef?
Garip: I find it very good when it is well done. All of that adds to the spread. Help for people to become more internalized in the kitchen.
News:Any dream or pending trip?
Garip: Now I started to study English again to go to Germany, Norway or Japan. But I don’t need something that was pending. I will be simple or I will be fine like this. I am satisfied with my life. I was always very active, too. Now I am more timid, calmer.
