At its annual assembly in Paris recently, the International Academy of Gastronomy bestowed awards on two Portuguese personalities – up-and-coming chef David Jesus and cookery writer Armando Fernandes.
Jesus, working at the Belcanto restaurant run by renowned chef José Avillez, was singled-out as the Chef de L’Avenir, a prize awarded to the most promising chef of the year.
The academy described Jesus as a “talented and dedicated young man, who every day faces the responsibility of putting up sophisticated and interesting Portuguese food at the Belcanto restaurant”.
His mentor, Avillez, won the same prize back in 2005.
Portugal was also recognised for its writing. Armando Fernandes received the ‘Literary Gastronomy’ award for his ‘À mesa em Mação’ cookbook, an impressive in-depth “social-gastronomic-anthropologic” study which includes over 200 traditional recipes from the region of Mação, a small municipality in the district of Santarém.
The remaining prizes were awarded as following:
• Chef Grant Achatz – “Culinary Art”
• Carlos Falcó, Marqués de Griñón – “Gastronomic Culture”
• Michel Guérard’s School of Healthy Cooking – “Food Science”
• Toyoko Nakamura – “Hearty Welcome and Service”
Photo: Chef David Jesus
