The local culinary scene continues to grow richer through the exchange of knowledge and cooking techniques brought by internationally renowned chefs, invited to participate in special gastronomic events, such as those offered by The St. Regis Bahía Beach Resort with its Epicurean Moments series.
This time, the guest chef at Paros, the restaurant of the beautiful resort in Río Grande, was Manu Buffara, who has been running her namesake restaurant, Manu, since 2011 in her hometown of Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.
Manu’s cuisine is setting trends in global gastronomic culture with its innovative approach to sustainable cooking. “We use organic ingredients from local suppliers and my own garden in our dishes,” she explained in an interview with EL VOCERO.
Manu is much more than a creative chef. Her vision of social cooking led her to establish community gardens in abandoned areas of Curitiba, empowering communities to manage these spaces for a common goal: self-sufficiency in food. Through this initiative, Manu has been contributing to food security and improving public health in her large community.
“The project has more than 80 urban gardens and involves around five thousand families,” said the chef, who initially studied journalism before choosing a culinary career. She trained as a chef at the European Center of Curitiba and honed her skills in New York and Denmark, where she worked with renowned chef René Redzepi at Noma in Copenhagen, which has been named the world’s best restaurant for several years.
In 2020, Manu established the Manu Buffara Institute, which organizes the annual Alimenta Curitiba event. Its principles focus on education and social inclusion in the city’s most underserved neighborhoods.
Manu’s culinary talent and background in journalism allow her to tell stories through food. “My job is to create, to transform on the plate, and to express the complexity of simplicity dish after dish,” noted the chef, who has gained recognition for her innovative menu following the “farm-to-table” concept, highlighting the immense pantry of her native Paraná.
In 2022, she was named Latin America’s Best Female Chef by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, which has also included her in its coveted list since 2018 for her tasting experiences, where 60% of the dishes are plant-based and combine innovative cuisine with the native flavors of Curitiba. A taste of her exceptional cooking was precisely what a group of food lovers — including this writer — enjoyed at Paros, where Manu crafted dishes that were both beautiful works of art and deliciously complex in their simplicity.
During the five-course dinner with two desserts, prepared alongside Diego Ortega, the newly appointed Executive Chef of the resort, Manu showcased her mastery and precise knowledge of flavors and techniques, resulting in aromatic dishes with well-defined tastes.
The flavor journey began with a Wagyu tenderloin tartare served with quinoa, sweet pepper emulsion, soursop gel, and tapioca; followed by a grilled leek topped with pancetta in clam sauce and a yucca crumble. A savory grilled squid in buttermilk sauce with a touch of squid ink, yucca, and coconut water followed, a dish that, according to Manu, represents much of her restaurant’s cooking, where she typically serves 11 courses to around 20 guests.
The most flavorful dish of the night was red shrimp finished with sweet peppers — a new flavor discovery for the chef, who found them in the resort’s garden. She served it with an herb-based sauce, fennel, and mandarin oranges, allowing the citrus acidity to balance the rich shrimp, while the fennel added freshness. The main course was a medium-rare lamb loin with a demi-glace of dehydrated mushrooms, accompanied by the chef’s version of Caesar Salad — with roasted components.
The desserts were equally wonderful. A homemade Greek yogurt sorbet was served with fruits and a sugar cookie crumble with dill, adding freshness; and a Brazilian chocolate presentation, which included chocolate truffles filled with coconut and fruit fillings, all from Brazil, alongside two chocolate bars with sea salt and tucupi (an extract from yucca root).
From beginning to end, the dinner was a sensory experience, crafted by an exceptional chef who will soon be opening a restaurant in New York, among other gastronomic hubs.
The next Epicurean Moments events will take place on September 13 and 14 with Chef Hong Thaimee (Ngam, East Village, NY), whose dinner will pay homage to authentic Thai flavors; and on November 22 and 23 with Chef Alex Dilling, owner of Alex Dilling at Café Royal in London, who brings over two decades of experience in Michelin-starred kitchens across Europe.
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