Christophe Krywonis It doesn’t need much introduction. What’s more, there are few who can recognize him by his last name. But he is Christophe, simply. And he is one of the most famous chefs on the Argentine gastronomic and television scene.
But the former Masterchef jury and host of Parrilleros, among many other programs, has a particular relationship with the world of cars. He is often called to many events and not necessarily to cook.
Christophe has a story that began at a very young age in his native France. Just as he says that his gastronomic beginnings were made by learning from his grandmother. When I was 5 years old, the same thing happened with cars..
“I get along very well with cars,” Christophe told Clarion. “It’s something that first started at my grandmother’s house, with her Citroën 3CV that had a hood.”
He feels comfortable talking about cars. He stirs up the past and brings back images of his childhood in perfect “Argentinian” but with his native French accent.
“I learned to drive in Argentina”
-How did you continue that relationship with the car since you were a child?
-Later my mother had the same vehicle as my grandmother and then we switched to Ford. It was a Fiesta. My mom bought it and had it until recently. She kept that car for about 25 years. Middle class French people don’t spend much…
-Were there other cars in the family?
-But the car I liked the most was my aunt’s, who had a Peugeot 403 Pininfarina convertible. It was white with a black hood. Walking around with that was fabulous. Then her husband had a Ferrari, so it was a very nice thing. These things mark your steps a little. But life led me to look at irons as something that can be useful and pleasant at the same time. In other words, it will never be profitable, but it will be very pleasant.
-At what age did you learn to drive?
-The reality is that I learned to drive in Argentina, when I was 24 years old. In France I drove the tractor and these things, with the cars in the fields, but nothing more than that. So I had to learn to drive officially in Argentina, 34 years ago.
-There was no one in particular. My mom’s best friend’s father, people from my dad’s side, then with friends. So well, when I got here I said no, no, I have to drive normally with a driver’s license.
-What was your first car?
-You continued with the French thing.
-Yes and it was what I could buy and pay at this moment. It was a very nice experience. I was very happy with the design and then switched to a Japanese brand. And now I have been with Ford for many years and it would be very difficult for me to switch to another type of vehicle.
-What should a car not lack for you?
-Interior comfort, power, safety at all costs, because there is a family and it is also road safety that worries me the most. Good aesthetics, I’m European, in short. But for me the best European cars are not French, they are German and English. A dream would be an Aston Martin.
-Have you ever driven an Aston Martin?
-I sat down but I didn’t handle it. It was enough to get me excited.
-I have an SUV, a second generation Ford Territory that is a pleasure to drive. It is not for trails, it is for road safety and to ride very well and comfortably both in the city and on the road. It’s very comfortable, it’s very comfortable. The truth is that it is a very versatile car.
-Does it strike you that a country has so many pickups?
-I had to adapt. I see the usefulness of it especially in the field. I have many friends who are from the interior who use pickups. But yes, it surprised me. But I also believe that a whole sociocultural phenomenon; It demonstrates volume that makes one feel important, having a vehicle that impacts.
-I’m not going calmly. Now I’m calm, very calm and I’m very happy like this.
-But do you like to drive fast on a track, for example?
-Yes, but only with the order and with the direction of someone who knows. I had an event with an English rally driver and we drove together, and when he saw that I didn’t frown, that he was happy, he realized that he had enjoyed it.
-What can’t be missing in your car?
-Water. Safe water. And well, the cell phone to manage myself with the GPS. A cloth. Toilet paper is going on the road. Is not more. Some dry cookies so as not to make a mess and so as not to arrive hungry and something sweet, but nothing more than that.
What project are you working on now?
–My chicken (“my chicken”, in French). It is a project that has been going on for many years, like four or five years. But a year ago with Sebastián, my partner, we found the place we wanted to do that. It will be a rotisserie open to the public, with a table to sit at, to take away, to deliver at home and it will be grilled chickens, embers and wood, but with a carousel system, let’s say.
-Yes, but there is no more wood-fired spiedo. This one has 84 chickens. It’s hypnotic to see them spin, the smell, how they turn golden… they’re telling you “Eat me!”.
– Is it a special machine?
-Yes, I had it designed. It is a very nice two-sword machine that has a very long endurance, it is very bulky, it weighs 700 kilos. It is an important machine measuring 1.50 meters wide by 1.20 meters deep.
-Spiedo was very popular a long time ago in Argentina, but not so much today.
-The craftsmanship was lost here. That is a call to attention to the artisans who know how to make these things. A firewood firewood is needed in Argentina. Well done. He gave my design to whoever wanted to copy it and replicate it well.
-Do you stop to eat when you go on a road trip?
-I always, always, always stop to eat something.
-Are you very demanding when you stop to eat?
-Yeah. Always. If I eat a sandwich, make sure the bread is fresh, the lettuce is fresh, the tomato is freshly cut, the cold cuts are freshly cut.
-Do you remember any food on the route that surprised you?
-I spent an episode going to Córdoba. I had to load in the Leones area and there were so many people that we were going to have to wait an hour, both to load and to eat something. A driver appears out of nowhere and recommends that I go to town to load and that next to the station I could eat at the bus terminal. I ate some gnocchi that I won’t even tell you about. People wanted to take photos. I return from my trip to Córdoba, 15 days later and there was a glass gigantography in the place. The story doesn’t end here.
-Soon I’m going to Neuquén, to Villa Pehuenia. And on the airport route, I stopped at another station and a man grabbed me and told me he was the brother-in-law of the owner of the restaurant at the Leones terminal. “I’m thrilled with the photo you took there so I need a photo with you.” And well, the story continued like this. But that’s Argentina, see? Things happen in Argentina.