Alex Atala

Chef Alex Atala is the chef and owner of D.O.M. in São Paulo, Brazil. In 2012, D.O.M. was ranked the fourth best restaurant in the world by San Pellegrino. As part of his vision for Brazilian cuisine, Chef Atala has worked with anthropologists and scientists at the Social Environmental Institute to discover and classify new food products from the Amazonian region.

See Chef Atala speak at our first 2013 Science & Food public lecture!

Primitive X Modern: Cultural Interpretations of Flavors
Featuring Chef Alex Atala
Wednesday, April 17 @ 7:00pm
Moore Hall 100 (map)
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Alex_Atala

What hooked you on cooking?
It’s a link between the world of nature and the man-made cultural world.
The coolest example of science in your food?
Ingredients such as ants or other insects. The things people eat without knowing what they are.
The food you find most fascinating?
The foods created by chefs. They tend to create dishes that transcend cultural barriers.
What scientific concept–food related or otherwise–do you find most fascinating?
Sometimes, do not be deceived by what your eyes are telling you.
Your best example of a food that is better because of science?
Mayonnaise, béarnaise and emulsions in general.
How do you think science will impact your world of food in the next 5 years?
It will make us rethink our relationship with food and how we consume it.
One kitchen tool you could not live without?
A knife.
Five things most likely to be found in your fridge?
Citrus fruit, fish, herbs, vegetables, and pepper.
Your all-time favorite ingredient?
Salt.
Favorite cookbook?
Los secretos de El Bulli
Your standard breakfast?
Coffee with milk and bread with butter. Very simple but you have different contrasts of flavor and texture: hot, cold, sweet, salty, soft… unctuous!
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Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] oh, just Chef Alex Atala—owner and chef of the 4th best restaurant in the world, D.O.M—stopped by to chat. No matter what’s trending in Latin America, Los Angeles is at the tip of the gaucho’s […]

  2. […] Chef Alex Atala is famous for scouring the Amazon for interesting new ingredients. At his Science & Food lecture, Primitive X Modern, Chef Atala shared some of his innovative creations with everyone in the audience. One ingredient in particular really challenged our perception of what we consider to be edible: Amazonian ants! […]

  3. […] his lecture Primitive X Modern, Chef Alex Atala questioned our cultural interpretations of what is “edible” or “delicious” […]

  4. […] Chef Alex Atala joined Science & Food to discuss his approach to food, how his cooking has been impacted by science, and how cooking is fundamentally tied to larger issues of natural conservancy and humanitarianism. Atala is renowned for pioneering regional cuisine using indigenous Brazilian ingredients and works closely with anthropologists and scientists to discover and classify new foods from the Amazonian region. Watch the entire lecture or check out some of the shorter highlights below. […]

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