CHEF TO WATCH

ROBERTA AND HER BRIGADE in the kitchens of her gourmet restaurant in the Jardim Botânico district.

BRAZILIAN DISH Thinly sliced heart of palm, marinated shrimp and egg in vinegar.

AFTER PAMPERING THE TASTE BUDS OF THE WORLD’S GREATS AT THE PALÁCIO DA ALVORADA, THE PRESIDENTIAL RESIDENCE IN BRASÍLIA, ROBERTA SUDBRACK MADE HER DREAM COME TRUE: OPENING HER OWN RESTAURANT. NOW SHE SHARES THE CULINARY TREASURES OF BRAZIL WITH THE WORLD, PLACING CARIOCA CUISINE IN A SPOTLIGHT AS HOT AS THE RIO SUN.

By Boris Coridian Photos Mickaël A. Bandassak

Roberta Sudbrack

YES, CHEF!

SELF-TAUGHT TALENT The chef forged her culinary expertise on her own.

FAVOURITE FOOTWEAR Orange canvas sneakers.

THE HEART OF PALM IS SO THINLY SLICED THAT, BENEATH THE TRANSLUCENT CURLS, you can make out the pale pink flesh of the marinated shrimp. A “snow” of devilled egg adds a pastel hue to the montage. The fresh herbs and flower petals provide the only intense colours on the plate served on the raw wood table. Also on the menu this evening are a creamy corn puree served with salmon roe, a snapper steak – the red-skinned fish with white flesh – sprinkled with grilled herbs with wood-fire fragrance. Confit duck with onions, intrepidly tasty, marks the end of the savoury sequence. The meal ends in sweets with bomboloni (Italian donuts) filled with dulce de leche and placed atop custard. With the mignardises, one has a choice between a Nespresso Grand Cru prepared espresso-style, or a traditional cafezinho served in a long-spouted coffeepot. Though there is a menu that everyone can choose from here at Roberta Sudbrack’s restaurant dq, guests are energetically advised to go with the “carte blanche” menu composed by the chef. “I was the first chef in Brazil to offer this kind of menu that changes every day. That was ten years ago, when we opened, and you had to be crazy to try to tell customers what they should order! But it’s nature, the fisherman and the tides that dictate the menu, not me!” explains the chef.

HELPING HAND OF FATE

The little red house, tucked behind a pretty wrought-iron gate in the quiet neighbourhood around the Jardim Botânico (Botanical Garden), near Lagoa, is a must for foodies in Rio. Yet nothing predestined Roberta Sudbrack to interpret this cuisine she has dubbed “modern Brazilian”. She owes her success and international renown – she’s collecting trophies (Latin America’s Best Female Chef 2015, a 2015 Michelin star) – to hard work, but also to an extraordinary professional path. “I’m from Porto Alegre, in southern Brazil. At 20, I left for the States, where my desire to cook first emerged. The only trick I had up my sleeve was the memory of my grandmother’s fried eggs. I learned everything from books and my first guinea pig was... my dog!” says this selftaught chef who celebrated her twentieth year in the business in December 2015. But desire and talent are not always enough to be one of the greats. It was the helping hand of fate that paved the way for Roberta’s dream to become a reality. “I started out preparing private dinners in Brasília, the capital. One night, during my second meal as a chef, I had the good fortune to serve the then-president of Brazil, Fernando Henrique Cardoso. The First Lady invited me to do more of the same, and so I went directly to the kitchens of the Palácio da Alvorada (the official residence of the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil). For seven years, I had the honour of serving the likes of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Prime Minister Tony Blair, Fidel Castro and all the Latin American presidents, but also Bill Clinton and French President Jacques

“I always prefer taking the road less travelled.”

AU NATURAL Raw pumpkin tartare with roasted pumpkin seeds, raisins, ginger and parsley.

ROBERTA, STREET-FOOD STYLE

In addition to her gourmet restaurant, Roberta Sudbrack recently opened Da Roberta dj, selling only street food, and SudTruck, a mobile food truck in Rio – shrines to the hot dog, the burger and the pastrami sandwich! You can follow Roberta’s rip-roaring news stream on Instagram (@robertasudbrack), where she is particularly active.

Chirac...” Quite a debut for a young woman who had never taken a cooking class and never set foot in a brigade before overseeing the one at the presidential palace – with a staff composed entirely of servicemen! “At the end of Fernando Henrique Cardoso’s term, I rekindled my original dream of opening my own restaurant,” says the chef who makes white or orange canvas sneakers her stylistic signature.

ODE TO LOCAL PRODUCE

“I had three job offers in São Paulo, and none in Rio. I chose the most difficult challenge by setting up a business here, in a city that didn’t have a great dining culture, unlike São Paulo. I always prefer taking the road less travelled,” she adds mischievously. Her niche remains unchanged: promoting the quality and diversity of the Brazilian terroir. Her favourite ingredients include the most basic resources from the local garden: okra, the seeds of which she turns into a veggie caviar, or pumpkin, which she prepares raw as a tartare. And, the way Roberta sees it, the adventure has just begun: “We’re still just infants! We have extraordinary ingredients, but we don’t know how to use them to their fullest. We’re working with other chefs to do substantive, long-lasting work. It’s a long, hard road, but very exciting!” she exclaims happily, as she prepares one last dish. The sopa de pão doce do meu avô (“my grandfather’s sweetened bread soup”) reflects her interpretation of popular culture and her desire to reach for the stars. “As night fell, I always saw my grandfather preparing his coffee with milk in a big cup. He dunked the morning’s bread into it and ate it before heading off to bed.” In Roberta’s version, a soup plate has replaced the cup, and a piece of brioche soaked in both coffee and cachaça (Brazilian rum) sits in rich custard, sprinkled with thin and crispy shards of heat-dried milk. Drops of coffee (Brazilian, of course!) snake out like coral branches across the surface. If Rio is the city of wonders, Roberta is undoubtedly one of them. n

WHERE MIGHT YOU ENCOUNTER ROBERTA IN RIO?

FASANO AL MARE ds “This Italian restaurant is run by one of the best chefs in Rio.” OLYMPE dd “The perfect restaurant for celebrating special occasions.” JOBI df “This bar is in my neighbourhood and I go there every day. ”

BAR DO MOMO dg “A very nice place with downto-earth food that’s an excellent value.” GEPETTO dh “This is the place for the best fries in Rio!” You’ll find all the abovementioned locations on our map in the back of the magazine.