Chef of the moment: Robbie Arnold-Starr goes whole hog at Belcampo Meat Co.

Robbie Arnold-Starr is executive chef of Belcampo Meat Co., the butcher and dining counter in downtown’s Grand Central Market. Arnold-Starr knew he wanted to be a chef when he was 10 years old, prompting his mom to ask Laurent Grangien — then the chef at Bistro Laurent in Paso Robles — if her son could have a job. At 13, he started working in Grangien’s kitchen, where he ascended the ranks while still in high school. “All I’ve ever done is work in restaurants,” Arnold-Starr said. After working at several Central Coast restaurants, including Artisan and Justin Winery, he landed at Central Market in Petaluma, Calif., then at Belcampo Meat’s butcher shop and restaurant in Larkspur. Now 27, he’s at the downtown L.A. location, having gained “a great appreciation for where meat comes from” during a stint at Belcampo’s slaughterhouse. Besides a lunch menu that includes a lauded burger and a cabeza frita cemitas (fried pork head and trotters sandwich), Arnold-Starr has been preparing weekly rotating three-course dinners Thursdays through Saturdays.

What’s coming up next on your menu? For myself and my sous chef Brian Hoffman, that all depends on what the butcher shop has available and what strikes us as in season at the farmers market, keeping in sync with the sustainable side of our jobs as chefs.

Latest ingredient obsession? Pig blood and offal. I did a pig blood chocolate pudding for dessert and pasta de sangue (pig blood taglietelle) for recent dinner menus. Also, charcuterie, including house cured lardo and goat liver pate.

The one piece of kitchen equipment you can’t live without, other than your knives? Mini offset spatula or tweezers.

The last cookbook you read — and what inspired you to pick it up? “Fäviken” by Magnus Nilsson. The recipe for vinegar aged in the burnt-out trunk of a spruce tree made me want to pick it up instantly.

What’s the last nonfood book you read? “The Stranger” by Albert Camus.

Belcampo Meat Co., 317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, (213) 624-2378, www.belcampomeatco.com.