French master chef David Baruthio's career has taken him all over the world. He has opened restaurants in many countries and here in Iowa, including Baru 66 and Prime Land and Sea in Des Moines. Baruthio explains that as a master chef he considers cooking to be an art, a craft, and a passion.
Many years after initially being inspired by his grandmother’s cooking as a boy in France, Baruthio took a job in a restaurant where he learned his craft through an apprenticeship. Since then he has traveled to countries across the globe including places like North Africa, Nepal, Mongolia, and the Caribbean where he learned from other cultures while also sharing his philosophy.
“My master chef, my mentor, always told me that there are two types of chefs: there’s good chefs and bad chefs. It doesn’t matter if you cook a burger or cook a lobster, work in a nice restaurant or work in a diner café. It doesn’t matter what you do, just do it right and be passionate about it.”
Baruthio strives to use locally sourced products for his recipes and even grows his own herbs and vegetables as much as he can. He explains that he loves to incorporate Iowa’s beef, corn, and squash into his menu but stresses the difficulty of doing so during the long Iowa winter.
On this Talk of Iowa, Charity Nebbe speaks with Baruthio about his past accomplishments and future restaurant projects as a master chef.
