João Vieira is a 24-year-old chef born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At the age of 15 he began to be in the world of professional cooking and for 3 years he has been a chef. In 2022, he won the National Dólmã Award, the Oscar for Brazilian cuisine, and was a finalist at the Enchefs de RJ Festival that same year. He is currently chef of the Chateau Vinhos restaurant, Culinary Ambassador of the State of Rio de Janeiro and cooking teacher.
Photo: Instagram de João Vieira
Mariano Pisani: What motivated you to be in the world of cooking? Why?
João Vieira: What motivated me to enter the world of cooking was the fact of dealing with nature, transforming the raw material, which are the ingredients, into art, like paint.
MP: Do you consider gastronomy as an art?
JV: For me, gastronomy can be like music: flavors resemble chemical musical strings. They are compound sensations, built from notes provided by different molecules, leaving the manipulator the responsibility of offering the diner a unique combination among the infinite possibilities to impart emotion through his final work, love.
MP: How do you play that music when cooking in the restaurant?
JV: I play this music by harmonizing the flavors of a dish when creating it so that each detail comes together to form a single result. Different flavors, creating a new flavor.
Photo: Instagram de João Vieira
MP: Did this help you when you won the Dólmã Award and when you reached the final of the Enchefs Festival in Rio de Janeiro?
JV: Yes, of course. I reached the final of the Festival with an artistic dish that criticized the current social and economic scenario of my State. A chef, in addition to his work in the kitchen, has a social responsibility with the environment in which he lives.
MP: Speaking of the tournaments in which you competed, how important was the Dólmã Prize before you won it and how important is it now that you've won it?
JV: The Dólmã Award is very important to give visibility to professionals in the area and enhance the gastronomic scene. In addition, the meetings allow chefs from all over the country to meet and exchange experiences. For me, the award brought a lot of visibility to my work and the responsibility of carrying the title of Ambassador of Brazilian Gastronomy.
MP: Does having that responsibility lead to being more demanding than there is in a restaurant?
JV: Of course. Customers search for the restaurant already knowing the title. With a higher expectation since I won the championship, so mistakes are not allowed.
MP: With that expectation and visibility, have you been called to work in other restaurants?
JV: Yes, I received some proposals, including projects. This includes the school where I teach cooking classes.
Photo: João Vieira
MP: How different can a restaurant kitchen be from the kitchen when you teach?
JV: In the school kitchen mistakes can be made, they are students and they are learning. In a restaurant kitchen they are professionals, mistakes are not allowed. Any error harms the development and growth of the company.
MP: What was the best dish you made in a restaurant or competition? Why?
JV: The best dish was in the final of the Enchefs championship, since it had a strong ideology against social inequality. The dish used part of the food that is generally discarded, such as the skin, the root, and the seed. Another part used only expensive ingredients like crayfish, thus symbolizing the social scene within a plate.
MP: Why is it so important to represent the social climate within a dish?
JV: Because food and culture are totally linked, one represents the other. Culture means society. Then, seeing gastronomy as an art form. Art has always criticized reality, so we as chefs have a responsibility to use our art to seek to improve the social environment.
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