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Karen Torosyan

Bozar

Karen Torosyan is an Armenian chef born in Georgia, moved to Brussels with his parents for a better life when he was 18.

“Arriving in Belgium the only thing that I could do was cook. I realised that what I did for five years in Georgia served for nothing, but I was convinced that all I needed was to find a space in a kitchen. I did not speak a word of French but knew that the language to wash pots and pans in a kitchen was to ensure they were clean. A friend found me a place in a Brasserie in Brussels as a dish washer and I slowly started to climb the ladder from the very bottom.”

So, he started his slow climb up. From dish washer he moved to the pass and at 21 years old, and he starts his first fine-dining experience with Jean-Pierre Bruneau at the time one of the finest chefs in Belgium.

The King of Pâté en Croûte

Chef Torosyan’s claim to fame is his signature croûtes, like the pithivier or paté en croûte. These stunningly beautiful, artfully crafted pastry crusts are hold all sorts of delectable fillings, such as duck, root vegetables, and foie gras. They are a sight to behold and an eating experience to remember.

Chef Torosyan’s became the world Champion of Pâté en Croûte in 2015. It is through countless trials and errors by which he mastered the perfect crust together with each of the different internal components.

Today is the chef owner of Bozar restaurant in Brussels, where he shares his experience and passion through his dishes.

“Passion is not like a flirt. When you are young, you meet a girl, you go to the cinema or restaurant on a date, that is a flirt. A flirt is shallow, there is no depth. Kitchen is all about passion. You need passion to survive at a high level. But to go further, passion is not enough. You need to treat that passion like a vocation, a bit like a marriage where you commit to be married till you die. I realised that passion is also light, it is a bit like a flirt. It is a sentiment that can disappear. But what you need is something more profound”