He became popular in the role of a judge on RTL’s cooking show ‘Three, Two, One – Cook!’. As soon as filming ends, he embarks on new culinary victories as he plans to work at the Don Dino restaurant in Trogir.
Ivan Pažanin (31), a chef from Split, attracted a lot of attention, especially from women, when he appeared as a judge on the cooking show ‘Three, Two, One – Cook!’ on RTL. Together with Tomislav Špiček and Željko Klemenčić, he evaluates contestants in the third season and says he feels excellent alongside them on the show. And as soon as filming of the show ends, he announces that he will immediately embark on new culinary victories as he plans to work at the Don Dino restaurant in Trogir. This will be a new beginning, he says, a new kitchen, new challenges, a new city, and he loves dynamics. Just like with his female fans, with whom he notes he gets along well after entering the television orbit. He is pleased that the opposite sex is so interested in him and that he can bring joy to someone.
– Of course, it is still unusual for me when people recognize me on the street because that privacy has somewhat disappeared. At first, I had a little stage fright from the camera, but it disappeared after two days. We all function excellently even though the three of us judges are each different in our own way, yet in some things completely the same. As a combination, we are a perfect hit! The most important thing is that we do not act on set. We are natural and do not want to change – describes Ivan, who has been interested in cooking since he can remember.
After the Hospitality School in Split, he started working in a restaurant, cooking at weddings and christenings, but also on a boat. By the age of 15, he already knew how to organize a kitchen and work all night.
Cooking for the famous
He found it interesting to cook for John Malkovich, Novak Đoković, and the Red Bull team in Formula 1. He experienced it as a great honor, although he does not like to emphasize it because every guest is equal to him. These are people who go to restaurants, know what good food is, so their praise is important to him, but the praise of other guests means just as much to him. Every criticism hurts him equally, and every compliment means he is on the right path. When he was younger, he had stage fright, but now he has a wealth of culinary experience behind him. He does not like philosophizing in cooking; he wants the ingredients to be authentic and to present them on the plate in the best way possible.
– I am very satisfied with everything because my efforts so far have borne fruit. Of course, I have also had some luck. It hasn’t always been perfect; I have had setbacks like everyone else. In my youth, I thought I was an excellent chef, but in the end, what decided it for me was that I did not have enough life experience. The years, experience, mental preparedness… everything is important. I am overjoyed, especially after the experience in the show ‘Three, Two, One – Cook!’. Otherwise, I love to eat everything, but I especially love shellfish, shrimp, and our Adriatic scampi, said Pažanin for the spring issue of Lider Trenda.
