I’m a Portuguese chef with 12+ years of experience in food and hospitality, shaped by professional culinary training, a university background in Kitchen & Restaurant Management in Hospitality School of Lisbon, Michelin Guide restaurants, hotels and private chef experiences.

My cooking is rooted in Portuguese and Mediterranean cuisine, with a particular love for fresh fish, seafood, seasonal ingredients and big, honest flavours. I love creating food that feels refined when it needs to be, but never loses that feeling of comfort and generosity that makes people want another bite.

Creativity is a big part of my cooking. At Sal Maris, a Michelin Guide restaurant focused on fish and seafood, creating new dishes and daily specials was part of everyday life. I also worked as a Private Chef, where adapting menus to different people, occasions and tastes was essential. For me, cooking is not about showing how clever the chef is — it’s about making the person sitting at the table genuinely happy.

I’m comfortable cooking everything from a relaxed Mediterranean dinner to a more refined multi-course experience. And while Portuguese food will always be close to my heart, I love taking inspiration from different cuisines and ingredients. I speak Portuguese and English, fluent Spanish, advanced French and basic Dutch, so I’m quite comfortable in an international kitchen or around an international dinner table.

Fun fact: the dish I’m probably most proud of is the one I haven’t created yet. I love the challenge of opening the fridge, seeing a great ingredient and thinking, “Right… what can we do with this?” That curiosity is probably what keeps me excited about cooking after all these years. Good food should make people remember the evening — not just the menu.