Meet the Chefs of Sodexo Live!: Chef Jose Olmos

Chef Jose Olmos has an enviable job of being an executive chef in one of the most dynamic culinary capitals in the world. At NuBel, the restaurant in the Reina Sofia National Museum in Madrid, he gets to live the dream of pursuing his passion for food, one instilled in him by his mother and grandmother. We caught up with the chef to talk about menu creation, the chefs he admires and what he loves most about his job.

Interviewer: How long have you been working in your field?

Chef Jose Olmos: I started as head chef for a catering services company in 1999.

Interviewer: What is your current role with Sodexo Live!? 

Chef Jose Olmos: I develop the gastronomic offer of NuBel, the restaurant of the Reina Sofia National Museum in Madrid. I also collaborate on different gastronomic projects in first-division soccer clubs, such as the Valencia Futbol Club, Real Mallorca Soccer Club, Real Sporting de Gijón and the Student Residence of the Spanish Professional Soccer League and the NBA.

Interviewer: When did you become interested in culinary arts? 

Chef Jose Olmos: When I was a kid, I used to visit my grandparents’ house to spend time with my family. I loved hanging out in the kitchen listening to my mother and grandmother's conversations and enjoying the scents that the pots gave off. I helped them with simple tasks and ended up learning plenty of recipes. The best part came when the food was ready and we all sat at the table and enjoyed the moment!

Interviewer: Who were your early influences?

Chef Jose Olmos: My mother and grandmother planted in me the passion of cooking for others and making them happy with effort and love.

Interviewer: What is your favorite childhood memory involving food?

Chef Jose Olmos: I remember this perfectly. It was summer, I was about 10 or 11 years old and was staying at my grandparents' house on vacation. One morning, my grandmother told me that she was going to make “fried milk” — this is a very traditional delicious sweet here. But at that moment, I thought, how is my grandmother going to fry the milk? Has she gone crazy? It's impossible … but she did it. And now, anytime I smell cinnamon, I go back to that moment.

Interviewer: Do you have any chefs that you look up to?

Chef Jose Olmos: Spain has evolved to become a world power at a gastronomic level. All this is because of great chefs like Juan Mari Arzak, the Adriá brothers, Martin Beresategui and an almost endless list of other excellent Spanish cooks.

Interviewer: How many people do you cook for in your position at Sodexo Live!? 

Chef Jose Olmos: NuBel is a great restaurant where hundreds of people pass by weekly. And just try to imagine the soccer stadiums I collaborate in, where we welcome thousands of people!

Interviewer: What is your general philosophy about food?

Chef Jose Olmos: Humans have created a culture around food. We are capable of transforming food, evolving it, cooking incredible recipes and enhancing flavors by cooking. I believe that food is true love. We can't live without it.

Interviewer: In your role, what is your approach to creating a menu?

Chef Jose Olmos: We create the menus and recipes as a team, and we think about the people they are targeted at or about certain segments of the population that we want to attract. I always like to think that I cook for the people I appreciate and love and I like to spend time with.

Interviewer: Do you do seasonal dishes for NuBel?

Chef Jose Olmos: Yes, seasonality is essential today. And this keeps us alive as professionals. At NuBel, we usually create a tasting menu every three months

Interviewer: What are some of the most popular dishes you've created?

Chef Jose Olmos: I like to remember dishes that I have made before and try to bring them back to the present. Lately, at NuBel we have developed a delicious plate of rice with octopus and scallops, and its essence is the seafood rice stew that I created many years ago.

Interviewer: What do you love most about your job?

Chef Jose Olmos: There is something wonderful, a moment that lasts only a few seconds and that we don't always achieve, and that is when someone takes the first bite of a dish: If you did a good job, their face will lighten up.