56 GOURMET TRAVELLER
INTERVIEW PRU ENGEL. PHOTOGRAPHY RICARDO D’ANGELO.to produce the vanilla in an agro-forestry system and
in greenhouses. Our main goal with all of this is to
empower the community socially through food.Cooking with what comes from within your country and
showing how delicious these ingredients are is the most
beautiful thing one can do as a chef.When you speak of
Japanese cuisine, sushi comes to mind; when you speak
of Italian cuisine, you imagine cheese, tomatoes and
olive oil; when you speak of Peruvian cuisine, ceviche
shows up; Brazil has manioc and rice and beans. These
are all examples of how important it is to appreciate
and use the ingredients that your land provides and
can grow, even if they’re not from there originally.
When I was in Australia last time I saw some amazing
chefs cooking exquisite dishes with ingredients from
their land and it was incredible.I don’t think people need to be taught how to cook, act
or eat.I do believe, though, that people should act
more according to their personal ethics. Don’t buy
or eat something you don’t agree with. That generates
a new demand and the market adjusts to it.Right now, I’m most proud of our workalongside
Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) with the Baniwa
chilli. The Baniwa are an indigenous people with
a population of approximately 15,000 living across
200 communities in Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela.
They produce the Baniwa chilli, a unique product
made with a variety of native peppers that, when
dehydrated, milled and mixed with a bit of salt, form
a potent spice. It didn’t get to the market becausewe didn’t know about it and the Baniwa people
didn’t have the structure to commercialise it. Today,
thanks to the partnership between ISA and ATÁ [an
institute founded by Atala that promotes ethical food
production], that chilli can be found in Mercadinho
Dalva e Dito, our stands at Mercado de Pinheiros,
and also is used in dishes at our restaurants. Because
of that, many Baniwa people prefer to work with the
chilli instead of working in mining, for instance.I speak for myself as a chefand for D.O.M. group
as a whole when I say we are moved by challenges.
It’s been almost 20 years of authorial, Brazilian-
ingredient-based cuisine at D.O.M. and, from that idea
to appreciate what is ours, other projects were born.
In came Dalva e Dito to rescue the comfort food of
all the regions of Brazil; afterwards, Açougue Central
(my nose-to-tail butchery) to show that it is perfectly
possible to eat sustainable quality meat made in Brazil;
then Bio, to prove that, with a little bit of heart, not
one single part of any ingredient needs to be thrown
away. Not to mention ATÁ institute, Retratos do
Gosto (our products brand), 7 Gastronomia by
Alex Atala (our catering service), and so it goes.
Today, thanks to a lot of hard work and amazing
people, all businesses are doing very well, but it felt
like the time came to try something new, perhaps
the biggest challenge so far. That something new will
be D.O.M. Hotel [due to open in 2021]. Creating
a hotel that large, especially in Jardins, the upmarket
part of São Paulo, is not child’s play. However, there
is only one way to know if it’s right: living it.After 30 years working in the kitchen,what excites me
most about turning 50 this year is to watch myself
become more and more certain that this is an endless
road. Putting my uniform on every morning makes me
realise that the possibilities that this road offers are way
broader than I have ever imagined. Keep that in mind:
this road never ends, not even when you get a Michelin
star or enter the 50 Best Restaurants list.Both as chefs and as individuals, I’ve learnt we must
understand that we can be a means of transformation.
Eating today is not simply feeding, it is a political,
economical, social and cultural act. The concept
of citizenship can be translated to the attitude of
an individual on behalf of the collective good. I
believe in a common consumption. I believe in
a common kitchen.●Alex Atala will be cooking at Glasshouse
Kitchen: Wild as part of Tasting Australia in
Adelaide on 13 April. tastingaustralia.com.au