The Continuing Rise of Alex Atala

Alex Atala

Three years ago, when the prestigious World's Best 50 Restaurants awards were announced in London, Chef Alex Atala's flagship São Paulo restaurant, D.O.M., was honored as the twentieth-best restaurant in the world. Two years ago, Sr. Atala's restaurant had climbed to 17th position, and in 2011, his rise in the ranks of the world's best restaurateurs continued as he moved into 7th place.

In the 2012 edition of the award, announced just this past weekend, D.O.M. was crowned the fourth-best restaurant in the world. For the third year running, Copenhagen's Noma restaurant was named the best in the world, and the second and third place restaurants were both Spanish - El Celler de Can Roca, located in Girona, and Mugaritz, located in San Sebastián.

D.O.M.'s ranking just behind this prestigious trio puts Chef Atala firmly in the top rank of the world's contemporary gastronomy scene. D.O.M. is now ranked higher than any restaurant in the USA, France, Italy or England. The top American restaurant, Per Se in New York is in sixth position, and the best restaurant in France, L'Atelier Saint-Germain de Joel Robuchon in Paris is ranked no higher than 12th.

There are three other Latin American restaurants listed in the top 50 - Astrid y Gaston of Lima, Peru in 35th place, and Mexico City's Pujol (36th) and Biko (38th).

Alex Atala's rapid climb has put São Paulo's star high in the gastronomic heavens, and this award being treated in Brazilian media, deservedly, as not only a personal honor for the chef, but a recognition that contemporary gastronomy is Brazil is as exciting as anyplace in the world. Brazilian chefs everywhere are celebrating D.O.M.'s new ranking and hope that next year Atala will continue his winning ways.

Flavors of Brazil joins a happy, enthusiastic and patriotic crowd of Brazilian gastronomes in saying, "Parabéns, Chef Atala!"

Brazil Scores at Gourmand World Cookbook Awards (again)

Every year since 1995, the best books, worldwide, about food and gastronomy have been honored at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. The 2012 awards were announced recently in Paris at a ceremony held in the famous Folies Bergère theatre, and Brazilian authors and publishers took home a number of awards, including first prize in the prestigious Food Literature category. We'll feature some of these winners and publish some of their recipes in future posts at Flavors of Brazil (some we've already covered), but for now, here's a listing of the books and authors, and the awards they were given.

Food Literature - 1st place
O Ganso Marisco (The Seafood Goose)
Breno Lerner, Author
Melhoramentos, Publisher

Photography - 1st place
Saveurs du Brésil (Flavors of Brazil (sound familiar?))
Sérgio Coimbra, Author
Studio Coimbra, Publisher

Desserts - 2nd place
Confeitaria Nacional (Brazilian Confectionary)
Luíz Farias, Author
Ilma, Publisher

Vegetarian - 2nd place
A Cozinha Vegetariana (The Vegetarian Kitchen)
Astrid Pfeiffer, Author
Alaude, Publisher

Fund-raising or Charity, Latin America - 2nd Place
Gourmet & Sustentável (Gourmet and Sustainable)
ONG Banco de Alimentos, Authors
Cook Lovers, Publisher

Spirits - 3rd Place
A Verdadeira História da Cachaça (The True History of Cachaça)
Messias Cavalcante, Author
Sá Editora, Publishers

Wine Translations - 3rd Place
210 Coquetéis Essenciais (210 Essential Cocktails)
Evelyn Ray Massaid, Author
Melhoramentos, Publisher

Wine Education - 3rd Place
Conheça Vinhos (Know Wines)
Direceu Vianna Junior and José Ivan Santos, Authors
SENAC, Publishers

Corporate Publishers - 3rd Place
Sabores Brasileiras (Brazilian Flavors)
Tramontina s/a, Authors
Bocatto, Publishers

Latin American Cuisine - 4th Place
Guia Carioca da Gastronomia de Rua (The Carioca Guide to Street Food)
Sérgio Bloch, Author
Arte Ensaio, Publisher

If you want to see more winners of the Gourmand World Cookbooks Awards 2012, click here to be directed to their website. There you'll find all the winners and finalists in every category.