Heating Up the Kitchen with Chef Timon Balloo

 

What does chef Timon Balloo crave and what could he eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? You’ll never guess. 

 

Balloo, executive chef of Miami (and now Brooklyn!)’s Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill is better known for his tapas- and rum-centric menu. But Balloo’s nothing if not the poster chef of cross-cultural cooking, he was born to Trinidadian and Chinese parents in New York City, grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, staged in Belgium, and has called Miami home for the past 20 years. All of these cultural and geographical points of reference have marked Balloo, influencing his kitchen techniques and, of course, his menu. 

 

Here, we’re talking to Balloo about the secret to a good dinner party, his favorite Latin spots, and his ideal meal. [pagebreak]

 

Beef Short Rib Sancocho, Colombian style, from my wife’s grandmother.

 

La Mar in the Mandarin Oriental, Miami

 

San Francisco

 

A lot of alcohol.

 

Ice cream on top of pizza and chasing it back with a Mountain Dew. I haven’t actually done it, but that sounds pretty indulgent…

 

Peas

 

Natto.

 

Putting truffle on everything.

 

Having the braised pig ear at the restaurant El Cuchara de San Telermo in San Sebastian, Spain.

 

Pizza – for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  

 

Caipirinha

 

Cherry pitter

 

“Baby Got Back” by  Sir Mix A Lot.

 

On a regular basis, chicken feet or tripe.

 

Korean/Mexican