I moved to Rio de Janeiro in 2005 after working for 8 years in the presidential kitchens of Palacio da Alvorada, in Brasilia, the capital, where I was called by the ex-president Fernando Henrique Cardoso as the first executive chef in a palace in Brazil. However, I’m originally a gaucho, I come from the South of the country and I was born in Porto Alegre. When I decided to move to the Cidade Maravilhosa the choice was not so predictable. All the best restaurants in Brazil were in São Paulo and it seemed like a true gamble to go and cook in Rio. In fact, thinking about it, it was a gamble indeed, but my love for the nature and the warm humanity of the carioca people attracted me here directly, without much hesitation.
Feijoada is a dish known everywhere, yet according to Roberta Sudbrack this is the best in Rio
After all, Rio de Janeiro is first of all a concentrate of nature. Its most famous and world-renown places are still a great source of inspiration for my dishes. It’s not by chance that from the kitchen window in my restaurant I can get a glimpse of the Corcovado and the Cristo Redentor who, with his open arms, watches over the city. And then there’s Pão de Açucar, the beaches in Copacabana and Ipanema, the pedra da Gavea... All these natural elements are part of my philosophy of life and of cooking.
As for my favourite places where, in the little free time I have, I relax and eat what I love best, they are also all profoundly linked to the
carioca culture and they are usually places in which over the years I have developed a close and friendly relationship with the owners.
Bar Jobi, a botequim in Leblon, is always full of guests
Rio has always been a multi-ethnic city. The African, Portuguese and other influences have marked the food offer. Just to name a dish that is known all over the world, namely
feijoada, the best is to be found in a simple place in the bohemian neighbourhood of Santa Teresa.
Bar do Mineiro is a concentrate of pure carioca essence. I enjoy going there in the afternoon, almost at sunset, after having strolled down the streets of the neighbourhood, ready to eat the best
feijoada in town.
Rio is also the town of the
botequim. These places usually serve
chopp, draught beer, in buckets, and you can enjoy a whole meal at the table or just have fun by the counter, with hot nibbles from the kitchen. My favourite
botequim, or rather my second home, is in the Leblon neighbourhood and is called
Bar Jobi. I always come here and have a draught beer and the not-to-be-missed
rissoles de camarão.
1. to be continued
