COOKING – From the balcony to the boat, Chef Bondì’s new format

He is young yet well established, already known to the public yet ready to embark on new journeys that will bring him back on air and out on the waves. Pagine Ebraiche has interviewed Ruben Bondì, born in Rome in 1994, better known to the public as Chef Bondì. Some people have seen him on television, others heard him scream from his balcony, some used a recipe they took from his book Cucina con Ruben (Cooking with Ruben), published by Cairo Editore. But why were you cooking on your balcony? “Because I got Covid while renovating my house and was basically confined in my old childhood bedroom. Since I cannot stay without cooking, I bought a camping stove, placed it on top of the outer part of the air conditioner, and from there I started making recipes.”
Ruben Bondì didn’t actually start on his balcony: “I’ve been working in kitchens since I was 15: I went to the hospitality training institute and in the meantime was always working, starting from the restaurant by my house.” The Roman accent that Ruben stresses on his balcony, and the restaurant by his house should not mislead you: “I lived and worked also in London. Then as at 21 I came back to Rome, I started working as a private chef.” This is something Bondì never stopped doing, except for the time spent on his balcony during the pandemic.
That unusual choice turned out to be a winning one: “I’ve made myself stand out and the publisher Cairo asked me to publish a book: it came out a year and a half ago and went really well.” Between a cacio e pepe pasta recipe, carciofi alla giudia (Jewish-style fried artichokes), and ricotta and sour cherries soup, the Roman spirit of the author stands out. Ruben is really proud of that. “My family has been Roman for seven generations,” he says. Words that, book in hand, sound more like a birth certificate than a simple statement of claim. And do you eat red mullets? “In my house we eat them fried; it is a recipe that I will most definitely prepare on the tv show we are working on these days about cooking on a boat.” This is the third tv show Ruben has taken part in. He made his debut on “Detto Fatto” (Said and Done), the TV program on the public channel Rai Due that launched him, and later appeared as a guest on other networks. Then came the transition to the Food Network: first with “Cooking on the balcony with Ruben”, followed by “Cooking at the market with Ruben”, all while preparing for his next chapter—cooking on a boat.
How important is Jewish tradition to you? “It means a lot, because it represents me, and I want it to come out. My followers on social media know it: for example, you cannot benefit from cooking meat and milk, not even on behalf of third parties.” And where do you see yourself when “you grow up”? “I still have no idea: I really enjoy working on television, but I am not ruling out opening my own restaurant.” Would you always stick to Roman cuisine? “No at all. In fact, my favourite cuisine is Lebanese. I’ve happily embraced that tradition by hanging out with Jews from Milan”.

Translated by Chiara Tona, student at the Advanced School for Interpreters and Translators of the University of Trieste, trainee in the newsroom of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities – Pagine Ebraiche.