That of
Ricardo Enrique Ortiz
(38) is one of the many happy stories that the
southern zone
of
Greater Buenos Aires
is home to and that managed to transcend the limits of that region.
It is that
the neighbor of Florencio Varela
, by force of self-improvement and capacity, managed to link his two great passions,
soccer and cooking
, to end up becoming the
personal chef of several players
;
among them, some
world champions
.
The
fanatic fan of Independiente
, who was baptized by his father with those names in honor of the greatest idol of Rojo (Ricardo Enrique Bochini), took his
first steps in the world of culinary art
when he was just a young man.
He always suspected that
his destiny was closely linked to gastronomy
, but he ended up confirming that omen after starting to work in the field in a renowned restaurant in the City of Buenos Aires.
"I liked it and I didn't stop anymore.
I began to study gastronomy in Quilmes
and learned the techniques and all the basics, but the real learning was at work. When I was younger
I went to work at a hotel in the south of the country, in Comodoro Rivadavia
That was
the first time I cooked for a soccer team
, "recalls the now professional chef, in relation to the occasion in which he was in charge of
preparing food for the Children's Activities Commission (CAI)
, one of the most popular clubs in that city of Chubut.
Chef.
Ricardo is a fanatic fan of Independiente and works at home.
The footballers call it up.
"I got on good terms with them and
I liked the issue of diets
, so when I returned to Buenos Aires
I signed up for a job agency
that I
knew belonged to an AFA leader
. They called me from there and
they were hiring me eventual
, for months, until
I was fixed in 2009
", he expands.
During that stage, Ortiz was one of the cooks in the work group led by chef Diego Iacovone.
And in those days,
he gave himself the pleasure -and the luxury- of sharing days with the then technical director of the Argentine National Team, Diego Armando Maradona
, whom he never even imagined being able to see up close.
"I didn't think I'd ever meet him. I remember I went straight into the living room and shook his hand. Then I
gave him a hug
. He
looked at me, laughed and said: 'I'm flesh and blood!'
It was cool. I told him it was a pleasure to meet him and he told me that the pleasure was his, "says the man, who has more than 5,000 followers on his Instagram account (@ricardodelrojok).
with Leo.
The cook also prepared food for the team led by Maradona, where Messi began to be captain.
That connection with the Ten was so relevant that, later, it ended up being a kind of 'key' to be able to
enter the meetings that the coach had with his work group and friends
.
Alejandro Mancuso, Héctor Enrique, Oscar Ruggeri and Claudio Caniggia
, among several other personalities from the National Team, tasted their barbecues in their homes on different occasions.
"Iacovone was in charge of
making the roasts
. One day he told me that he couldn't and asked me if I could go. I went on a Thursday and, since
we hit it off, he told me to keep going
and grab that job every Thursday. Sometimes
They would play football, apart from eating barbecue
, "reveals Ricky, as his loved ones know him, who even prepared the risotto that Diego liked so much.
Logically, spending time with 10 was synonymous with the creation of an anecdote for the man from the South.
"Once I was playing
Independiente with Argentinos for the Copa Sudamericana
and Red needed a goal to get through the phase.
I was cooking a rib
and Diego was sitting with Ruggeri, Caniggia and Nacho González.
He scored the Independiente goal and I yelled it with soul and life
. I forgot that Diego started in Argentinos!".
The Ten and Oscar.
Ortiz said that Diego, on one occasion, ran him to throw him into the pool.
It was for shouting a goal from Rojo against Argentinos Juniors.
And he continued:
He turned around, looked at me and said: 'Are you rogue?'
.
I apologized to him and he told me that nothing was wrong, that he had gone to see Pavoni and Bochini before.
After the meal, when he was leaving, I said hello and
Diego took off my Red hat and started running because he wanted to throw me into the pool
.
In those days, the chef was one of those in charge of preparing meals for figures such as
Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuaín, Sergio Romero and Lionel Messi
, who with Maradona's hand began to become the team captain more than once. decade before ending up lifting the World Cup in Qatar.
"
We had Leo every day at the AFA. He was introverted and very calm
. And Chiquito Romero drank mates with us. The players
had a basic diet
that the doctor, Donato Villani, prepared for them. It was very varied, with
proteins, carbohydrates carbon and fibers
. They ate
pasta with different sauces
. Also
meat, chicken and fish
, depending on the day. And many
salads, fruits and fruit juices
, "says Ricardo.
Enzo.
Ricky also cooked for Fernández, who had a strict diet before leaving for Portuguese football.
In this sense, another of the Albiceleste footballers who tasted the preparations of Florencio Varela's cook is
Enzo Fernández
, one of the figures of the last world champion team and former player of Defense and Justice.
"I work as a
private chef for the Solari brothers
, Santiago and Pablo,
and for Ezequiel Barco
, who plays for River. And Enzo lived in the same neighborhood, in the Ezeiza area.
Before going to Benfica, he asked me to cook for him
He is very humble and generous.
His diet was much more strict and super specific
. A Spanish nutritionist prepared it for him. It was very rich in fiber and carbohydrates, and little protein. He
took great care of himself and only had one allowance, which they were the ham and cheese sorrentinos with mixed sauce
.
He loved that," reveals Ortiz, who also cooked for Leandro and Nicolás Fernández, Sebastián Sosa, Silvio Romero, Ezequiel Cerutti, Pablo Pérez and Julián Fernández (whom he met at a meeting at Barco's), among several other footballers.
And after noting that
he would like to meet Bochini and invite him to eat a barbecue
, he concludes: "I like to cook for everyone. I enjoy when people like what I prepare for them. I cook at gatherings, parties, birthdays or wherever I call. I make roasts, paellas, homemade pasta, catering... Whatever I paint.
The players like what I do because I handle myself with good vibes, respect and discretion
."
Spider.
He met Julián Alvarez at a dinner at Ezequiel Barco's house.
look also
"Messi is really cool," a friend told him, so he traveled to Paris, met Leo and gave him 24 kilos of t-shirts
Nahuel Pennisi and his fanaticism for Enzo Fernández: "I can't believe what he's playing, it's crazy"