Chef Luis Pous Talks Cuban Cuisine, Culture and Cooking for Castro
By Hilary Sheinbaum
Traditional Cuban sandwiches, step aside. There’s a menu of new Chino-Latino dishes – and a new chef – in town. At Asia de Cuba New York, Cuban native Luis Pous has been named Executive Chef, and he’s bringing a unique perspective to the plates at the restaurant that reopened in March. Some of the chef’s favorite things to cook are Cuban favorites like yucca dumplings, roasted pig and raw fish – ceviche style (recipe below).
An expert in cuisine from his native country, he also shares Cuban beauty secrets as well, as some involve local ingredients. “In Cuba they use a lot of cocoa; the fat. They take the fat off of chocolate and use if for beauty products,” says Pous. “So your lips don’t crack in the cold, we use cocoa. We wrap it in paper and put it in the fridge.”
Here Pous shares his experience going to culinary school in Cuba, cooking for Castro, and moving to the U.S. when he was 28.
Yahoo Beauty: You were born in Cuba - what was it like moving to Miami in 1997?
Luis Pous: I had never gone anywhere outside of Cuba. We weren’t allowed to go anywhere. I won the lottery visa, which is something the government puts together with the United States to help people who want to leave the country legally. My girlfriend back then put it in without me knowing. It was a rough beginning.
How so?
I got to the United States with her, and I didn’t have anybody here. I left Cuba when I was 28. I spoke no English. Nothing. I never went back.
You started your career training at the National School of Culinary Arts in Havana – what does the program entail?
I went to the Culinary Arts school in Cuba. I started when I was 17. What people mainly know about Cuban cuisine is mainly rice, and beans, and roasted pork – things like that. Traditional Cuban cuisine back then had a lot of French influence. The first year, it’s Creole Cuban cuisine. Toward the end of the year, you get into the garnishes and the carving. The second year, there’s a lot of French. We would go to school Monday through Friday. In the afternoon and the weekends, we would choose to go to the government house or the embassy for events.
What was it like to cook for events hosting foreign dignitaries and Fidel Castro?
You get picked. There were only 28 in my class. Three or four guys would get to go to the event. We knew that he was there. You can’t get in and out of the stations you are in without permission. One of our friends was late – he was trying to sneak in. He went to jail for a day!
Chef Luis Pous Snapper Ceviche
Yields: 1 serving
Ingredients:
· White fish, cut into slices 4oz
· Cilantro, chopped fine 1 tsp
· Thai chili, diced .25tsp
· Jalapeño, diced 1 tsp
· Red onion, diced 1 tsp
· Lime juice 1.5 tbs
· Plantain Chips 6 pieces
· Salt to taste
Method:
Place first five ingredients in a stainless steel bowl.
Toss, adjust seasoning as preferred and reserve for plating.
Peel and slice plantains on the bias 2.5 inches long and 1/8th of an inch thick, deep fry until golden brown.
Place the ceviche on the plate and garnish with plantain chips and two cilantro leaves.
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