Man On Fire

In his year of milestones, Alex Atala is on a mission. The champion of Brazilian gastronomy has turned 50, his flagship restaurant D.O.M. turns 20, and the chef is tackling projects as diverse as a hotel, a giant vanilla pod and “the common kitchen”.

- Pru Engel

2019 is the 20th anniversary of D.O.M. To say the least, it will be a special year for all of us. It’s time to celebrate our successes but also renew our energies and try new things to conquer the next stages. And to do everything while still keeping our high standards.

I’ve been connected with Amazonian cuisine, ingredients and flavours ever since my early childhood. I believe that the richness that comes from the forest and from all other Brazilian biomes is the backbone to all my work. The kitchen brought me amazing things and the jungle is my everlasting fountain of inspiration.

Working with Brazilian ingredients gives us the chance to find new ingredients and different flavours every single day. After all, we are talking about the greatest and largest biodiversity in the world. I learnt years ago that, in order to cook Brazilian cuisine, I’d have to be open-minded and not judge any ingredient before tasting. That is a thought I still hold on to today whenever I come across new ingredients in Brazil or anywhere.

Right now, I’m really passionate about the potential of a type of giant vanilla with a scent that is truly mesmerising. It’s called baunilha do Cerrado (vanilla from Cerrado, a Brazilian biome). When speaking of vanilla from Madagascar or Mexico, we’re talking pods that weigh 10 to15 grams. One single Cerrado pod can weigh 80 grams, and we’ve harvested some double that weight. It also has a higher concentration of vanillin – this makes it quite different from other types, which usually have more of a tobacco scent.