From Palettes to Plates

I was born and raised in São José do Rio Preto, a city in the interior of São Paulo, Brazil. As the son of a house painter and a cook, my first profession was that of my father, which I am proud of, a profession in which I learned the principles of cooking. He often told me, “When you put putty on a wall, you should imagine putting meringue on a cake.” I have emphasized the importance of using sharp tools, just as a cook needs a sharp knife.

My father’s work with paint sparked my interest in studying colors, which has helped me combine color palettes in my dishes. At home, my mother, who cooked for a house run by Spanish priests, served as my role model in the kitchen. She honed her culinary skills through experience and would create banquets with just a few simple ingredients. My favorite dish of hers was the potato tortilla, a Spanish classic that became a regular at our dinner table because it was both easy to make and inexpensive.

My culinary journey began when I won a scholarship to study cooking in Águas de São Pedro, also in São Paulo. While there, I started working in a cafeteria as a dishwasher and kitchen assistant, serving around 300 employees and preparing almost 600 kilos of food each day. With a limited budget, I was under pressure to come up with new dishes there, which made me work and increase my creativity in that environment.

Following that, I gained experience working in hotels, resorts, and restaurants. Today, I am setting up a rotisserie named @zlita__ in honor of my mother, who has always inspired me in the kitchen. In this rotisserie, I will recreate dishes that I love and evoke fond memories. I believe that gastronomy is a vital tool for social and cultural inclusion.