Masterchef 15, interview with Chiara Pavan: «Am I a judge? Maybe one day”

Returning from an event in Athens, with the restaurant bursting with people and New Year’s Eve dinner and the traditional New Year’s brunch to prepare. Chiara Pavan goes in a hurry, in the last days before the winter closure of starred restaurant Venissaon the island of Mazzorbo, where he shares the kitchen with his partner Francesco Brutto.

Green cuisine, but really green: to fight alien species such as the blue crab, which invade the Lagunaputs them in the pot. Since last year the Veronese cook has been a pleasant novelty on Masterchef, the cooking show by Sky“lookout” and guide of aspiring chefs during the preparation of the dishes and from this edition, during the selections. His competence, his irony and his attitude have made inroads and this year he is having much more space. In tomorrow’s episode he will be the protagonist with an absolute novelty for the program: the Green Mystery Box, a test dedicated to “zero waste” and the reuse of ingredients

Is it true that the second time is more difficult than the first?
No, I’d say it was easier. I had more space and I feel more comfortable. Both with the authors and the chefs, they welcomed me very well and it’s going great.

Has the way participants approach each other changed compared to last year?
I have to say they were a little more prepared. They knew more or less what they should do to accommodate my requests and needs, such as paying attention to order in the kitchen and avoiding waste.

And how do you experience the attention in the press and on social media? There are plenty of comments and memes out there
It seems to be going well to me, even if I don’t read much of what is written. Nobody comes to insult me ​​on my social media, they told me that’s a good sign (laughs). I must say that last year I gave the idea of ​​being more severe, this year I seemed more “right”, the extra space I had made me come out better as I am.

What is the relationship between Canavacciuolo, Locatelli and Barbieri like? Is there alchemy?
They are very close-knit and joking, and have an attitude of great respect towards everyone, they were wonderful with me. They know they’ve created something that works. All three are aware of their differences and their potential. They are people who know how to read contemporaneity.

End of 2025, time for mini balance sheets, what is the ingredient you discovered or rediscovered this year?
Goro’s miniature oysters. They are smaller than the classic ones and are bred in the Po Delta: they manage to coexist with the blue crab, contributing to the biodiversity of the fish fauna. And then they are very sustainable, like all bivalves in general: they do not require feed and some studies tell us that to grow their shell, they indirectly “capture” carbon dioxide, transforming it into calcium carbonate. But above all they are very meaty, with a delicious hazelnut aftertaste.

And the most surprising place?
The «Antidoto» wine shop in Rome.

Venissa is closing for a couple of months, what will you do?
First I will travel a bit for work, then in February I will participate with my sister in the Verona half marathon «Romeo and Juliet»: I am training… .
And further? More than someone has written that it would be nice to see Chiara Pavan as a judge on Masterchef sooner or later…
Many people tell me, I would be happy, but between saying and doing… who knows how many other things can happen in the meantime, maybe I’ll become a marathon runner!