Chef Filip Ondrušek: food, memory and traditionCEFR B1
20 Jan 2026
Adapted from Nevena Borisova, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by Artem Beliaikin, Unsplash
Filip Ondrušek is an Austrian-Slavic chef, ecologist and activist who now lives in São Paulo. He is 29 and has worked and travelled widely, visiting more than thirty countries. During his career he cooked in well-known two- and three-Michelin-starred restaurants in different regions.
Ondrušek follows Slow Food and Demeter ideas and prefers biodynamic, seasonal ingredients. In Autumn 2025 he was an honorary guest at Bulgaria's Traditional Cheese Festival. He tries to combine classical technique with traditional methods and creative expression while keeping respect for the product.
He sees Austrian and Slavic culinary traditions as complementary: Austrian cuisine brings structure and precision, while Slavic cooking is more intuitive and tied to family and local ingredients. He notes common preservation methods — for example fermentation, curing and smoking, and pickling and slow cooking — and believes food carries memory and identity. He says chefs today must keep practical lessons from the past while reviving regional identity.
Difficult words
- ecologist — person who studies and protects nature
- activist — person who works for political change
- biodynamic — method of farming using natural cycles
- seasonal — related to a particular time of year
- honorary — given as a special title without payment
- complementary — different things that improve each other
- preservation — keeping food safe or usable longer
- fermentation — process where microbes change food
- identity — qualities that show who people are
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Do you prefer seasonal, local ingredients like Ondrušek? Why or why not?
- How can a chef use old cooking methods and at the same time create new dishes?
- Which preservation method from the article would you try at home and why?
