Maria Canales
Updated Sunday, February 18, 2024-00:03
He arrives last at the presentation of his most recent project, a new culinary contest. Immaculate, perfectly made up and hairstyle and with the energy that characterizes him. The expectation that
Mario Vaquerizo
(Madrid, 1974) generates at the photocall and, in general, wherever he goes, is maximum, even more than his fellow program members who are also there. Together with the actor Maxi Iglesias, the singer Beret and the presenter Ruth Lorenzo, he stars in
Encuentros con Sabor,
the
talent show
produced by Mahou that fuses gastronomy with the world of beer and which premieres on February 19 at Sexta. These are four episodes in which each of the artists will act as presenter and judge before contestants who will compete to get the dish that best enhances the flavor of a beer.
After attending to all the media present, he finally relaxes and sits with us on the couch for a while before participating in the presentation of the program. The first thing she does is order a beer, which never arrives, and the second thing is to apologize for her cough: "I just got back from Mexico to perform and the plane makes my throat very dry." She speaks wonders about the country, where, for the first time, the Nancys Rubias, the musical group she leads, have performed alone, without opening for anyone.
In addition to doing concerts with his group, Mario is a presenter, representative, manager (from Alaska), journalist, collaborator on television and radio programs, actor... he doesn't stop. "I am a Renaissance man, I like to do everything and I am not prejudiced. I am a very curious person and I always approach everything with a lot of respect and professionalism," including his fame, he confesses.
Mario Vaquerizo at the photocall for the presentation of 'Encuentros con Sabor'.
Your love for beer is well known, so this program related to its world is perfect for you. Light man! I think it's a matter of common sense that I'm into this
talent
related to food and beer [laughs]. In other words, you didn't think for a second about confirming your participation. If they hadn't called me, I would have been very angry (laughs), because beer is part of my daily life. That is, I come back from the gym, I shower and then I go to the office and the first thing I do at 12 in the morning is have a beer with a snack. And, furthermore, I really like beer philosophy. The beer philosophy is sharing, friends, celebrations, even a disagreement with someone, you say: 'come on, let's have a beer.' It unites a lot, or that's how I see it. It makes me feel good. Did you know the importance of beer in cooking before participating in 'Encounters with flavor'? Thanks to this
talent show
, I have discovered that certain foods make the flavor of a beer stand out and that they also You can cook with it as an ingredient. I make some beer chicken breast fillets that I love. Is there any dish that you inevitably accompany with a beer whenever you eat it? Well look, the torreznos, which for me is a dish, although people don't consider it that way. When we go through Soria, Valladolid... on tour, and we see that there is some place with good torreznos, because you also have to know how to cook them, that's where we go. We love them.
Mario and his program companions.
Did your participation in MasterChef Celebrity represent a turning point in your eating habits? It represented many turning points in my life, on a vital level and on a culinary level. From a personal point of view, it was the first time that I decided to enter a contest and I realized that I am more serious and more competitive than I believe. On the other hand, I learned a lot. I didn't know how to make lentils and now I make them, and it's a source of pride when you get a good dish. My time on MasterChef also "reconciled" me with good nutrition, because it is true that I was more of a
pa pa
. I ate at odd hours and there were days when, perhaps, I didn't even eat. When you go to dinner now at restaurants or at friends' houses, do you pay more attention to what they serve you and how they present it to you? Yes, I pay more attention, but I don't say anything to the person because it is rude. What happens is that now everyone insists on the issue of plating and many times I say: "not that you plate so much, it's very good that way." Some lentils have to be presented in a pot, as it has always been. I come from a very culinary family, that is, my father has always cooked at home and has always eaten well and everything, and when I entered the program, he was very excited about it. How do you stay in shape? Well look, first sleeping eight and a half hours a day; I'm lucky that, despite being older, I don't have sleep problems. Then, leading an orderly life, within the disorder that this job has, but having a very orderly attitude towards life: going to the gym every day, getting up very early, going to bed early and, later, having a balanced diet. Eat a little, but everything. Have you ever tried any of those miracle diets? No, I am lucky to have a nutritionist who taught me that you can eat absolutely anything. I go to his office every week in Puente de Vallecas because he continues to be a psychologist who teaches me how to eat well without having to starve. Being on a diet does not mean suffering, because suffering comes later, when you binge after going five days without eating. I think continuous and constant feeding is fine. But like everything in life, it has to have common sense. You cannot go, from my point of view, for five days without taking anything and then eating, because you drive your body crazy. So, the intermittent diet thing doesn't suit you...I'm a person with very routine habits. I like to have my fruit for breakfast mid-morning, then my snack... But hey, if the intermittent diet makes you feel good, who am I to say what you should or shouldn't do? I respect everything. I do what makes me feel good, which is the usual food in small quantities and, from time to time, actually every week, I treat myself to a treat or two. I don't believe in those diets that inhibit you, because they generate anxiety and anxiety is very bad. How do you conquer your stomach? With a good hamburger, really. I like them very, very much. I am conquered by a hamburger. Do you buy bread in gourmet bakeries, now that they are so fashionable? When I eat bread, I buy it in a traditional bakery and I usually have it toasted without salt or sugar. Who Would you invite me to eat to get to know you better? I really like being at home and receiving at home. I would have loved to have invited Andy Warhol or Dalí, who are people I greatly admire. I don't know if they would have wanted to eat with me...
Who would you never sit at the table with? With rude people, prejudiced people, dogmatic people, polarized people, people who do not understand the term pearl gray. Pearl gray is my philosophy of life. There is white, there is black, but then there is also pearl grey, which looks fantastic. What's stopping your appetite? Well, the unpleasantness.
At that moment, Mario interrupts the interview and, heading to the stall, asks for his drink again: "What's stopping my appetite right now is not having a beer, please bring me one..." And he continues: "My stomach closes when I have upsets related to the loss of loved ones, because there are other upsets that used to close my stomach and now they don't. This job doesn't work out? Nothing happens, I take another beer and divine."
Why do you need a salt shaker? To speak in English, because I am very modest, believe it or not. But recently I went to Warsaw to do an advertising campaign and I let myself go. I got lost in the middle of the city, but with my English I managed to get back to the hotel. And they told me: 'Hey, you speak it better than you think.' So, when Deborah Harry, the singer of Blondie, came to my house to eat, with my English, worse or better, I contacted her. What are you bingeing on? To life, what do you binge on? Chocolate. What does fame taste like? Fame tastes like what everyone wants it to taste like. I am super in favor of fame. I have never tried to be famous, it has been given to me, but I am a professional of fame, because even to be famous you have to be professional, knowing that fame is ephemeral, as Andy Warhol always said. When was the last time you Did you turn like a tomato? I turn red when I hide something and they catch me. The thing is that I'm not even good at hiding because, in the end, I always confess: "Look, Olvido, I told you that this was like that, but it was the other way..." And admitting it, I turn red. What's bothering you these days? In recent times, intolerance, tension, polarization have been bothering me... This moment in which we find ourselves, every time you talk to a person, you often stop being yourself because what they will say. And I haven't done that when I was little and now that I'm 50 years old I'm not going to do it. I don't believe in self-censorship. Is the bun oven in Spain? I don't know. I live in my Noah's Ark and look, I travel a lot and I believe that there is no country like Spain. But hey, what I want is for everyone to do well, and, above all, for the people I love.
Nowadays, when there are so many euphemisms, are you one of those people who like clear things and thick chocolate? I always say what I think, with education you can say things clearly. Half-truths and nonsense don't work for me. Do you have bad coffee? No, because I don't drink much. I drink one a day, cold, made the day before because I don't like it hot, and with ice. What do you put spicy in? To life. All the spice in its right measure is sexy.