MasterChef Argentina: what happened to the life of Alejo Lagouarde, the winner of the second edition

Alejo Lagouarde

became

With a

, he divided the public between those who loved him and hated him.

The revolution that he generated during his participation was so great that a

him, although -now- he assures that he did not bother him: "The important thing is that they talk."

Today,

company ,

and he teaches cooking on different platforms: on Fridays he is on the Carmen Barbieri

program  (Ciudad Magazine, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.), on his Instagram account @ alejomasterchef, where he has more than 75,000 followers, and on his YouTube channel.

In the prelude to the start of a new edition

the winner of the second installment of the program spoke with

about the experience that participating and winning that program meant for him, he told how his life changed and he anticipated the ambitious projects he has for his career in the near future.

“I want to be one of the best chefs in Argentina”.

Alejo Lagouarde

-Is there life after MasterChef?

-Yes

, there is life.

I already did catering before entering

, something very small, only for acquaintances.

I didn't do it professionally because one of the requirements of the program was not to work on this.

And when I won, I started promoting it more and it happened to me that people didn't call me because they thought that, since it had come out on TV, it was going to be very expensive.

But I traveled the entire country cooking, giving massive classes, on very large stages.

For example, in Catamarca I appeared before 10,000 people, with the governor (at that time it was Lucía Corpacci) and everything.

Not so much the networks at the time, because Instagram was just starting.

Alejo Lagouarde in the kitchen where he works.

Photo: Instagram.

Were you traveling on your own?

-No, he was hired by the provincial governments.

I would arrive and they would treat me like a star, I had a driver, a 5-star hotel, everything I wanted to drink and eat, a personal photographer... I remember that once, at an event in Campana, I took 900 photos and already number 200. the muscles of his face were numb from smiling so much.

I went to Córdoba, Catamarca, La Rioja, towns in the province of Buenos Aires, Mendoza, I repeated several destinations.

-What was the work trip that marked you the most?

-I came to the Malvinas Islands, invited by the British government.

We went with a Uruguayan participant and another Brazilian from different editions of

We had a good time, despite the sentimental part that was mixed with work.

She goes through knowing that there is a giant cemetery with 17-year-old Argentines buried.

I was able to go see it and it is very moving, the air that was breathed was very strange, I have never experienced anything like this in my life.

Alejo Lagouarde on his trip to the Malvinas Islands.

There he visited the Darwin cemetery.

Photo: Instagram.

-Do you like to teach?

-I love teaching, I have a lot of patience, I believe that in order to teach you have to have the premise that the other person knows nothing, you have to explain from scratch and not take anything for granted.

In fact, I have a video on my Instagram of how to make white rice, because those who are not dedicated to cooking do not know.

Even before

I gave my friends classes, taught them how to make basic meals, and charged them.

I taught him to hold the knife, how to make each type of cut, all with a lot of patience.

Alejo Lagouarde and his recipe for perfect rice.

Instagram.

-What do you live on now?

-I have a catering company, which is a comprehensive producer of services.

And as soon as the program ended, he also organized

events  for companies (activities to form high-performance teams and improve interpersonal relationships within a group): it was called the "MasterChef challenge" and the challenge was to assemble the sandwich of your life. .

I divided them into two teams with 50 employees on one side, 50 on the other, I mixed all the departments and they had 20 meters of ingredients to make, in teams, the best sandwich of all.

-How did you live your time at MasterChef?

-It was the most watched program of the year, the highest rating peaks.

For a long time I couldn't even leave my house.

They went so far as to organize a cacerolazo so that I wouldn't win, people gathered at the Obelisk on the day of the final and everything, because I had a bad cheto character.

But the important thing is that they talk about you, even if they speak badly.

-Did you put together that character or the production?

-Being a

, everything is taken care of by the notaries, so they really can't tell you anything about what to do.

I was very spicy, I went to have fun, to cry and get nervous I stayed at home watching it on television.

In the first interview, the one you speak off, I had been adding a bit of spice and the one behind the camera asks me: "Does that dish look like shit to you...?".

And I, who have a degree in marketing and I am very thoughtful, although it seems impulsive, and I said: "Hmm, this is about it".

I saw everyone crying, being so supportive of everyone, when it was a competition.

So I told him: "This dish looks like vomit to me, horrible wherever you look at it, it's ugly in taste, color, presentation, I think he learned to cook in a sewer," and that's how my answers began to be, with wicked but creative

Alejo Lagouarde in the MasterChef program.

He was the winner of the second edition.

-Behind the camera were you the same?

-No, actually

My colleagues loved me a lot because I was like that for the camera, but later if I had to change a dish to donate an ingredient to someone, I would do it.

He was the first to help you, who gave you ingredients, who told you: “Save with this, save with that”, but nothing in front of the camera.

He gave you a hand when the camera wasn't looking, because I had to form my character.

In fact, for the final, everyone came to see it at my house.

Although the only one who ended up dedicating himself to cooking was really me, only I have the vocation in my blood, imagine that I started cooking at the age of 8.

-How did you get to sign up for MasterChef?

-My best friend from college told me: "I'm going to make a video for you to sign up for."

And I had no idea of ​​anything, not even how to handle a camera, she filmed me making two recipes.

She uploaded it on a Sunday night and on Monday morning they called me for the second casting, which was more about cooking.

They told me that I passed the camera test with a 10.

-Do you feel that you took advantage of your time in the program?

-I always gave everything, from the castings

even though I saw those next to me and knew that I didn't need to make an effort because I was better than the rest.

If they give you the opportunity to be in a program like

that is going to open so many doors for you, give you so many opportunities, that is going to teach you so much, you have to give it your all.

You don't have to faint, you don't have to lower your blood pressure, you don't have to cry.

When you get home, do what you want.

They are giving you an opportunity that very few have, I was among the best 50, if you do not give everything it means that you do not love life.

-Are you very self-demanding?

-I am

excessively self-demanding, in this profession where hands and creativity are involved, if there is no self-demand, you do not stand out, because there is a lot of competition, you stay average.

I a poorly made dish, I do not take it out.

I tell the client: "I charge you less, but I'm not going to take this dish from you."

The path to success is self-demand.

In the

, I demanded ten times more than the jury, they knew that they didn't have to demand so much of me, because my whip was ten times stronger.

I already knew all the mistakes I had made, but sometimes there is no going back.

On the show it's better to deliver something than nothing, but he knew all the mistakes he'd made.

Alejo Lagouarde in the kitchen where he works.

Photo: Instagram.

-How do you live the experience on the other side of the cameras?

-In

you have to combine technique and creativity.

Maybe people don't know that you record five days a week, sometimes six, so your creativity is running out.

I never cooked something wrong because of timing, because I am very meticulous and I always finished before, but the times I made a mistake it was because my creativity was exhausted.

And it's part of the program to look for your mistake,

If you have a week to think about everything and rest, you make big money and there is no challenge.

-Would you like to have your own restaurant?

-I already had it, I had one in Devoto, very large, with jazz set to the period, but it is a very stressful field.

I hear that it is the dream of many and I do not know why.

There are millions of people who invest their life savings and it is the item that fails the most, you have to have everything very oiled.

I would not do it again, I do have private dinners in wineries or at home, and now in my office we are doing work to have a room for private dinners.

By making sure the number of diners, I cannot merge, it will be a group per day and I plan to do it once a week because I already have a lot of work with the catering.

Alejo Lagouarde in the kitchen where he works.

Instagram.

- Are you seeing the new editions?

-I saw a couple of episodes

, but I didn't see any talent, the participants were there, not because they knew how to cook, but because they were famous.

I watch TV when he adds me or when he informs me.

To see celebrities doing anything I prefer to see a soap opera.

-If they call you to be part of a new edition in which

winners from all over the world compete, would you sign up again?

-I go head in and fight it the same way.

I leave body, soul, spirit and matter, I leave everything there.

I am one of the most competitive and ambitious people out there.

Every day I dedicate two hours to see new ingredients and new trends, although unfortunately in Argentina you cannot access millions of things.

For example, silicone molds, we are in prehistoric times, today I have to cut sheets of paper to make molds by hand, which are not reusable, because of all this importation.

Dedicating yourself to cooking in Argentina is like throwing yourself into a pond full of crocodiles and not getting bitten by any of them.

Did you think about leaving the country?

-Many times, but here I already have a name formed, I have a company, I am recognized for what I do, I am valued.

Going outside and starting from scratch, does not call me.

-What characterizes your food?

-The very playful fusion of flavors, I combine all kinds of food: Indian with French or Peruvian with Argentine or all four together.

I do a lot of research, last week I went to the Liniers market and bought 6 different types of potatoes, artisan cheeses and then I mix everything together.

Mine is an extravagant fusion but with an incredible balance on the palate.

Alejo Lagouarde in the kitchen where he works.

Instagram.

-Is there an ingredient that should not exist, in your opinion?

-The melted cheese, because melting a cheese and using it in excess, first, is disrespecting that cheese, which is prepared to be eaten raw.

Second, it is also a lack of consideration for the producer, who wanted to, matured the cheese, fermented it, and waited a year to put it on the market.

It shouldn't exist, they use it to flavor, instead of accompanying things.

On a pizza you don't taste the dough or the sauce.

How do you see yourself five years from now?

-I can tell you how I see myself three years from now: consecrated as one of the best chefs in Argentina.

I want to have the best catering in the country, number one, and be a highly recognized chef.

And I work for that, I am like a high-performance athlete: I am 100% devoted to my company, I work 12 hours a day, I do research all the time, I travel to look for utensils and spices, cooking is my life.

I want to be the most successful chef in Argentina.

For example, mine is one of the few caterers that does not outsource anything, we do everything ourselves.

The baked goods are made on the day, at the moment, so sometimes I have to get up at 3 in the morning to bake croissants for a corporate breakfast that starts at 6. ​Today, we are among the three best catering

companies of the country, so we are on the right track.

DD

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