Maxim Behar — guest on the podcast “Stories from the Table”: travels, taste, and dreams
Maxim Behar was the guest in episode №6 of the podcast “Stories from the Table” — a project by barabàr, dedicated to the pleasure of conversations, food, and gatherings. It turned into a warm and sincere dialogue about how travels shape one’s taste for life, why it is easier to talk about important things at the table, and how dreams should be planned with the same care as an ideal lunch or dinner.
About childhood and first memories
Maxim recalls how in 1963 he traveled to Israel for the first time, and that was when the world became colorful for him:
“In Shumen, my childhood was gray, but suddenly in front of my eyes opened markets, people, noise, colors. Maybe that’s where my interest in the world began.”
About family and the table at home
“My mother was the soul of the table. Everything began and ended with her. Even my grandmother Matilda, who sat with us on the divan, kept order. But the most important thing was — to be together.”
About food as an emotion
“Food is no more than 20% of the table. The rest is the company, the conversation, the chemistry between people. When that is missing, even the tastiest food loses its meaning.”
About sharing and personal space
“I love to share everything, but I protect my plate. This is your territory, as is the glass. The most important thing is to look each other in the eyes and to listen.”
About listening and communication
“The big problem of society is that we listen in order to answer, not to understand. True communication is when you enter the words and the intonation of the other person.”
About tasty and clean food
“It is important to have tasty food, but it is twice as important to have clean food. Today we have abundance, but the truth about the origin of the food is becoming ever more valuable.”
About travels and simple pleasures
Maxim talks about the “Camino” in Spain:
“Every evening we ate pan con tomate — a slice of bread with tomato and a bottle of Rioja. The simplest thing can be the most delicious, when you are in the right place and with the right person.”
About meeting people around the world
From lunches with presidents and kings to conversations with global businessmen, Maxim emphasizes:
“The most important thing is not the food or the luxury, but the communication. You can dine with a multimillionaire who wears a $50 watch and learn much more from him than from someone who shows wealth through black caviar.”
About PR and truth
“My definition of PR today is: to tell the truth in such a way that people understand you. The truth is raised to a cult. You can build a brand for 20 years and destroy it in 20 seconds if you lie.”
About positivity and life
“The easiest thing is to tell someone they are not good enough. The difficult thing is to find that one thing in which they are good and help them develop it. Every person is interesting. Everyone is their own planet.”
The conversation with Maxim Behar in “Stories from the Table” was about much more than food. It was about memories, about company, about truth, and about the ability to look at life positively. The table, as Maxim himself says, is the place that makes us equal and brings us together to communicate.
Watch the full interview here.