Brazilian chef Manu Buffara, named ‘Latin American’s Best Female Chef’ in 2022 by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, has been invited to cook alongside resident chef João Oliveira at the Michelin-starred Vista restaurant at the Bela Vista resort in Portimão.
The special dinner will take place on April 1 at 7.30pm and is part of the restaurant’s ‘Guest Chef Series’, which sees João Oliveira inviting several world-renowned chefs to the Algarve cook with him.
The goal is to “promote the Algarve and local products by bringing chefs from all the world to cook at Vista and giving clients and friends an opportunity to get to know a bit of the work of these renowned chefs who visit us,” says Oliveira.
Chef Manu Buffara runs Restaurante Manu in Curitiba – the first restaurant in Brazil led by a female chef to only serve a tasting menu. It only has five tables, welcomes 20 people per night and uses only fresh and seasonal ingredients, 60% of which are vegetables.
Her work has been earning her multiple awards in recent years, having been named ‘Latin America’s Best Female Chef’ in 2022 by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy. Her restaurant was also placed 46th in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants of Latin America.
Sustainability is important to chef Manu, who has played an active role in the protection of native Brazilian bees, in encouraging young fishermen and farmers to not abandon their activity in the Brazilian state of Paraná and in the development of urban gardens in Curitiba.
She has also created the Manu Buffara Institute, which distributes food and meals to people in need around Curitiba and is an ambassador for ‘Mulheres do Bem’, a group of chefs who serve 400 lunches to homeless people once a week in Curitiba.
Her second restaurant, Ella, is due to open at the Meatpacking District of New York City in the United States of America this year.
The dinner at Vista costs €300 per person (including wine pairing) and is limited to just 30 seats. For bookings: [email protected]
Two more Guest Chef Series dinners are planned for 2023, featuring Spanish chef Rafa Zafra from Estimar in Barceolan and Indian chef Himanshi Sahini from Trèsind Studio in Dubai. Dates have yet to be revealed.
