Rooted in Nature

Food has always been about connection for me. It started with my grandmother at her country house in Portugal, where I am from. I’ve been cooking for almost twenty years and remember beginning my journey as an apprentice in fine-dining restaurants. It didn’t take long to realize that wasn’t the right path. The rigid formality and the pressure to follow a specific mold didn’t feel like me. I wanted something different, something more connected.

Much of my career was spent traveling and working across Australia, splitting my time between restaurants and farms. Those years were transformative. I wanted to understand food’s roots and see where it came from before reaching the plate. 

Today, I’m the head chef at Babel, a small restaurant in Porto that feels closer to where I’ve always dreamed of working. At Babel, the goal is to make every customer feel like they’re at a friend’s house. Everything is casual and unpretentious, but the food has to be excellent. We change the menu specials almost weekly, keeping things exciting for the team and our guests. There’s a joy in that constant creativity, and it’s the happiest I’ve been in my career.

The industry, though, has its challenges. Schedules are grueling, and paychecks often don’t reflect the efforts of the industry. If there’s one thing I’d like to see change, it’s how teams are treated. Better working conditions and more respect for the people behind the food matter. They’re what I strive for every day at Babel.