Portuguese gastronomy is increasingly becoming an international reference. With a rich variety of products and flavours available, chefs are challenged to recreate national savours, delivering unlikely combinations in elegant and refined environments. With a touch of innovation, they convey an absolutely unique gastronomic journey. Qualities that have been acknowledged by the acclaimed Michelin Guide. In the 2022 edition, thirty-three chefs were distinguished. Seven restaurants already have two Michelin stars and twenty-six have one star.
1# CHEF RUI PAULA
Age: 55 years old
Nationality: Portuguese
Restaurant: Casa de Chá da Boa Nova, Matosinhos
Michelin Guide 2022: Two stars
It was in the Douro municipality of Alijó, influenced by the food that his maternal grandmother used to prepare, that Chef Rui Paula started to develop a taste for cooking. And it was precisely there that he opened his first restaurant, together with his wife, which he called Cêpa Torta.
This was followed by DOC (Degustar, Ousar and Comunicar, which translates as ‘Taste, Dare and Communicate’), in 2007, a restaurant located on the Folgosa quay, on the banks of the River Douro, between Régua and Pinhão. It quickly got famous, being visited by several national and international public figures. Then, back in the city where he was born, Porto, he opened DOP in the historic quarter.
Among other projects he integrated, the Casa de Chá da Boa Nova, in Matosinhos, came about. Built on rocks, two metres above the sea, by the renowned architect Siza Vieira, Casa de Chá da Boa Nova is more than just a restaurant. Here, he took his gastronomic experiences to another level, thus obtaining his first Michelin star. The second arrived in 2022.
