Rafael Tonon
Rafael Tonon is an award-winning journalist, writer, curator, and researcher who lives between Brazil and Portugal and travels the world to eat and write. He covers food trends, culinary traditions, and the restaurant industry. His work has been published in outlets such as Eater, Munchies (Vice), Slate, The Washington Post, Fine Dining Lovers, Atlas Obscura, El Pais, Expresso, Público, among others. Graduating in 2004 from the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas, Brazil, Rafael is the author of books such as "Gastronomic Revolutions" (available in Portuguese and Spanish) and "50 Restaurants Over 50 Years – 5 Decades of São Paulo's Gastronomic Scene," about historic establishments in São Paulo. His contributions to the media landscape earned him the title of Food Writer of the Year by Identita Golose in 2023. Simultaneously, he was awarded the Best Culinary Traveler prize at the inaugural Bites i Mos, an award given by the Government of Catalonia to professionals creating culinary travel content. Rafael is also a speaker and moderator and has participated in events worldwide in countries such as Japan, Spain, Brazil, Denmark, and many more.
Carlos Martins
Carlos Martins holds a degree in Economics from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Porto, a postgraduate degree in Cultural Tourism from the University of Barcelona, and a Master's in Gastronomic Tourism. He specializes in creative economy and cultural and gastronomic tourism. He is the founder and managing partner of Opium – a cultural and creative planning company based in Portugal. He is also a founder and Board Member of the "Next Culture" European Network of Cities. Carlos serves as a consultant for the United Nations and the European Commission in the areas of Cultural Strategy, Creative Industries, and Creative Tourism. He was the president of ADDICT - Agency for the Development of Creative Industries and executive director of Guimarães 2012 European Capital of Culture. He founded Porto Post Doc – a Documentary Film Festival and the Portuguese Philharmonic Orchestra. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Portuguese Olympic Committee, the Portuguese Association for the Development of Communications, and the Regional Tourism Agency of Porto and North.
Inês Pando
Inês Pando (b. Porto, 1989) works between Porto and Matosinhos. With a degree in Photography from ESMAE, she has taken part in various artistic and cultural projects such as Groove Ball and Colectivo S/ Título (a collective of multimedia artists). However, it was in the kitchen that she established her most solid professional career.
Since 2015, she has been in charge of the kitchen at Mafalda's (Matosinhos Municipal Market), a space where she is also co-owner and where the menu changes every day, with inspirations that draw on Portuguese traditions and a sea of flavours from all over the world, always keeping up with what is seasonal and what the market has to offer. In addition, over the last few years she has collaborated with other chefs and venues in various formats: pop-ups, one-off events, four-course meals, among others.
In 2024 she opened Urraca, a new project in Porto of which she is also co-owner and head chef.
Arnaldo Azevedo
His passion for gastronomy began at an early age in the family restaurant in Ermesinde. Arnaldo Azevedo was born two years after his father, with whom he shares his name and vocation, opened a restaurant, where he took his first steps in the kitchen. He attended a cookery course at the Santa Maria da Feira Hotel School, followed by other experiences between Porto and the Algarve, which helped shape his career and define the personality and boldness of his creations. He arrives at Vila Foz Hotel & Spa in 2019, earning Vila Foz its first Michelin star in 2022.
Iván Dominguez
Nuno Coelho
Nuno Coelho graduated in Architecture and Urban Planning from the University of Porto. For 16 years he was president of the Baguim do Monte parish council. From 2021 to 2023, Nuno Coelho worked as an architect for Paredes City Council. Today he is the current director of Docapesca for the auctions and fishing ports in the northern region, including Matosinhos. Docapesca is the entity responsible for managing the first sale of fish in Portugal, playing a crucial role in sustainability and food safety in the fisheries sector.
João Oliveira
João Oliveira graduated from the Escola Profissional Infante D. Henrique in Porto as a Culinary Technician in 2006, and since then he has worked at major gastronomic references in Portugal, including the Michelin-starred Largo do Paço in Amarante, The Yeatman Hotel, where he was a Sous Chef for four years, also Michelin-starred, and Vila Joya, awarded two Michelin stars. In 2015, João Oliveira took over as the head chef at VISTA. In 2019, he was honored by the International Academy of Gastronomy as "Chef de L’Avenir," earned a Michelin star for VISTA, and received the "Garfo de Ouro" 2020 from the Expresso newspaper.
Olga Cavaleiro
Olga Cavaleiro was born in 1971 in Tentúgal, Montemor-o-Velho. She has a degree in Sociology from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra. In 1996, she completed the Postgraduate Course in Communication Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra. In 2018, she completed the Master's Degree in Food, Sources, Culture and Society at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Coimbra with a final mark of 19 for her work: Portugal Gastronómico: Portuguese gastronomy and regional cuisines.
At the invitation of various organizations, she was responsible for researching and writing a number of publications, including the Gastronomic Charter of the Historical Villages of Portugal (2020) and Territories of Flavor, the Cuisines of the Douro and Ave (2023).
From her travels she brings knowledge that she shares in the classes she teaches at the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the University of Porto, in the Master's Degree in Food Sciences. She is also responsible for the history and culture of Portuguese gastronomy at various hotel and tourism schools in the Turismo Portugal network, teaching in Lamego, Porto and Viana do Castelo.
From her CV, we highlight her visible associative activity between 2007 and 2020, having been president of the Portuguese Federation of Gastronomic Confraternities. His mandates included the establishment and celebration of the National Day of Portuguese Gastronomy and numerous activities in defense of Portuguese products.
Helena Real
Helena Leal is a nutritionist with a PhD in Food Consumption and Nutrition Sciences from the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the University of Porto. With a Master's Degree in Public Health from the Faculty of Medicine of the same university, she also has a degree in Nutrition Sciences from the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences of the University of Porto.
She currently holds the position of Secretary General of the Portuguese Nutrition Association, where she plays a crucial role in advancing nutritional policies and practices in Portugal. She is also the Editorial Coordinator of Acta Portuguesa de Nutrição, a scientific journal of the Portuguese Nutrition Association, contributing to the dissemination of knowledge in the field.
In academia, she is a guest lecturer at the Instituto Universitário de Ciências da Saúde - Grupo Cespu, where she teaches subjects related to Community Nutrition, Communication Methodologies and Gastrotechnics.
André Tavares
André Tavares, born in Porto in 1976, is an architect with a PhD from the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, where he is a researcher and directs the Fishing Architecture project, funded by the European Research Council.
Since 2006 he has been the coordinator of Dafne Editora, an independent publishing house in Porto. Between 2017 and 2023 he was the architecture programmer at the South Garage of the Belém Cultural Centre and, with Diogo Seixas Lopes, he was the general curator of the 2016 Lisbon Architecture Triennale, The Form of Form.
He is the author of more than a dozen books, including ‘The Anatomy of the Architecutral Book’ (Lars Müller/Canadian Centre for Architecture, 2016), ‘Vitruvius Without Text’ (gta Verlag, 2022; French translation Vitruve hors texte, Éditions de La Villette, 2024) and ‘Architecture Follows Fish’ (MIT Press, 2024).
In Portuguese, highlights include ‘Os fantasmas de Serralves’ (Dafne Editora, 2007), Matéria-prima: Um olhar sobre o arquivo de Álvaro Siza (Serralves, 2017) and, with Diego Inglez de Souza, Arquitectura do bacalhau (Dafne Editora, 2022).
Diego Inglez de Souza
Diego Inglez de Souza, born in São Paulo in 1978, is an architect and urban planner from the University of São Paulo and has a PhD in History, Architecture and Urbanism from USP and Université Paris 1 - Panthéon Sorbonne.He is currently a researcher at the Centre for Architecture and Urbanism Studies (CEAU) at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto.
He co-authored the books ‘Reconstruindo Cajueiro Seco: Arquitetura Moderna, Política Social e Cultura Popular em Pernambuco’ (Annablume, 2010) and ‘Arquitectura do Bacalhau e Outras Espécies’ (Dafne Editora, 2022) with André Tavares.
He has also authored book chapters and scientific articles published in Brazil, Europe and the United States.
Abel Coentrão
Born in Caxinas, Vila do Conde, in 1973, he is a journalist with a degree in communication sciences and sociology from the University of Minho, Braga, in 1998, and a cultural and community promoter in the area of maritime heritage, through Bind'ó Peixe - Associação Cultural, an organization of which he is co-founder and president and with which he has been involved in the production of exhibitions, documentaries and publications and in supporting academic research by various authors on fishing, mainly in the Vila do Conde and Póvoa do Varzim area. She was a journalist for Público until May 2022 and is studying regional and urban planning at the University of Aveiro.
Rui Martins
Awarded Chef of the Year in 2016, Rui Martins has been dedicated to researching and promoting a cuisine rooted in memory and tradition, focusing on quality ingredients. He is currently responsible for the gastronomic direction of the Prumo group and oversees the kitchens at the restaurant O Culto ao Bacalhau and the Brasão breweries in Porto.
Lucía Freitas
Chef and owner of the restaurant A Tafona and the gastronomic bar Lume, honoured with a Michelin Star and 2 Repsol Suns. In 2024, A Tafona was awarded the SOL SUSTAINABLE prize. She is Honorary President of WIG (Women in Gastronomy, Japan) and in 2022 was awarded the title of Chef L'Avenir (Chef of the Future) by the International Academy of Gastronomy.
As an entrepreneur, she owns two restaurants with different concepts, and in 2024 she plans to open a third, also with a different concept. At the same time, in the year of the 2020 pandemic, she created Misto, a home delivery project that takes her more casual proposals (hamburgers, grilled meats or other finger food dishes...) to your home. In addition, in the context of ‘seasonal’ products (Christmas), since that year he has been producing a range of premium nougats in different flavours, which has been growing year after year. Another aspect of his entrepreneurial development is his work as a lecturer, organising workshops, showcookings and gastronomic events at national and international level. In the near future, her focus is on a line of gourmet artisanal ice creams and an R&D project related to cattle (extensively and ecologically farmed), with the aim of launching quality by-products from this animal.
Convinced that haute cuisine is heading for regression, she defines her culinary philosophy as ‘primary avant-garde’, a permanent search for the essence, coherence and truth of cooking, and an appreciation of context, historical memories, the primary sector and the sublimation of Galician produce in all its splendour. All this reinterpreted by the vision, creativity and technique of an avant-garde mind. Lucía says: ‘I cook a territory, Galicia, and its memory. And I translate that into a dish.’ A permanent investigator of the four pillars of this territorial context - the sea, the countryside, the vegetable garden and the legacy - she has two key spaces that function as an extension of her restaurants: the Plaza de Abastos in Santiago de Compostela and her own vegetable garden, her space for leisure and experimentation. A separate chapter is her work as a connector and creator of networks, ecosystems and synergies with a whole army of producers, livestock farmers, shellfish gatherers... with an absolute majority of women. This has led to the creation of Amas da Terra*, her social, cultural and gastronomic project, which has grown by leaps and bounds, honouring and valuing the true backbone of gastronomy and any territory: the women who make the future. Amas da Terra* will be presented to the public in autumn 2024. During this first year of activity, it has received two national social gastronomy awards: the Gastroactitud ‘Commitment to the Earth’ Award and the Comer La Vanguardia Award, in the O de Origem category.
Diana Barnabé
Diana Barnabé divides her days between the artistic direction of the Escola de Teatro da Retorta and the executive and creative direction of Estúdio Cozinha - an agency and production company specialising in gastronomy - turning her hunger for storytelling into a craft. At the same time, she runs Canal Pança - a media project dedicated to gastronomic culture - and writes chronicles in which food is the protagonist for the blog Anita e Garibaldi. Diana believes that Sunday only exists if it starts with a buttered “regueifa”.
Alexandra Prado Coelho
Alexandra Prado Coelho, a journalist at the daily PÚBLICO since its foundation in 1990, was born in Lisbon in 1967. She graduated in Social Communication from Universidade Nova de Lisboa and began working in the newspaper's International Politics section, where she remained for 16 years. She is the author, together with photographer Daniel Rocha, of a book about the Muslim community in Portugal entitled ‘Muslims in Portugal - Where is Mecca when you look at it from Lisbon?’ and another, with photographer Paulo Barata, about the iconic Lisbon seafood restaurant Ramiro. In 2006 he moved from the International section of PÚBLICO to the Culture section, and since 2011 he has devoted himself mainly to food-related topics, from producers to restaurants, from new gastronomic trends to health, from the impact of climate change to the way we have fed ourselves over the centuries. It interviewed many of the great Portuguese chefs and several international chefs who have played a leading role in some of the great gastronomic movements of recent years. She has reported on food in different countries, following the gastronomic revolution in Peru, travelling through Brazil to taste the cuisine of places like Goiás or Belém do Pará, visiting Denmark to learn about the Noma phenomenon, and following festivals such as Madrid Fusión or Mistura (in Peru). In Portugal, she has written about food, restaurants, agriculture, products, the environment, sustainability, the history and future of food, always for PÚBLICO, with the highlight being a series of five reports in text and video, with Vera Moutinho, on Food in the City, and another on water management, particularly in agriculture, also with Vera Moutinho, which won first place (ex aequo with Mafalda Gameiro, from RTP) in the EIT Food Journalism Prize. In 2020, she received the David Lopes Ramos Award from Grandes Escolhas magazine. And in 2023 the Luso German Journalism Prize for a report on Berlin's gastronomy.
Edgardo Pacheco
Edgardo Pacheco is a key figure in journalism and culinary criticism. He has written for the Correio da Manhã newspaper, Jornal de Negócios, and was responsible for the "gourmet" section of the magazine Sábado. He also worked at CMTV, where he hosted the cooking show "Prato da Casa." He is co-author of the book "Guia Restaurantes - The Best Places to Eat Across the Country" and author of "The 100 Best Olive Oils in Portugal," published in 2016 by Lua de Papel.
Joana Duarte
Joana Duarte é chefe de cozinha, mas também é licenciada em Biologia Marinha e Biotecnologia (IPLeiria) e tem mestrado em Oceanografia (Universidade de Cádiz).
Trabalhou inicialmente no IPMA na equipa de investigação de Pelágicos (sardinha e anchova). Após alguns anos, formou-se em cozinha na Escola Hoffmann em Barcelona. Há 15 anos que trabalha em cozinha, tendo passado por restaurantes estrelados, até conceitos variados de fine dining. Decidiu criar a Rota das Algas, juntando o conhecimento dos Oceanos no geral e das Macroalgas em particular, a uma disciplina ou arte tão apaixonante como a Gastronomia. A Rota das Algas consiste num percurso pedestre guiado junto à beira-mar, na altura da maré vaza. Durante este percurso são identificadas todas as macroalgas edíveis presentes nessa zona. Provam-se e capturam-se algas na praia e para consumo em casa. Aprende-se como aplicar as algas na cozinha, de forma simples, eficiente e muito saborosa.
Nuno Castro
Sérgio Baamonde López
Sérgio Baamonde López has a degree in Environmental Biology from the University of A Coruña, in north-west Spain, and has developed an academic and professional career closely linked to the study and exploitation of marine macroalgae. In the final years of his degree, he specialised in marine phycology, working in the Marine Macroalgae Laboratory of the Botany Department at the University of A Coruña, the only one of its kind in Spain. During this time, she worked with systematics, applied taxonomy and the development of experimental cultures of macroalgae of potential commercial interest, as well as taking part in the management of R&D (Research and Development) projects related to the uses of macroalgae in Galicia. After the good results obtained, he was hired by the laboratory where he continued his scientific work, combining it with the completion of his DEA (Diploma of Advanced Studies) and his thesis. During these years, he stood out for his active participation in numerous R&D projects, conferences and scientific publications, always focused on the development and optimisation of algae cultures of commercial interest (such as wakame, kombu and Ulva), mapping algae communities along the Galician coast, assessing environmental impacts using algae as bioindicators and the sustainable management of algae banks. Sergio then went on to work for the official Galician administration, collaborating with the Consellería do Mar through the company Tragsatec. In this role, he worked as a biologist specialising in marine macroalgae, providing technical support and training to the fishing and aquaculture sector on issues related to the management and sustainable exploitation of algal resources, with a focus on harvesting, seasonality and cultivation. In 2014, he founded Conservas Mar de Ardora S.L., a company dedicated to the valorisation, sustainable harvesting and commercialisation of Galician seaweed. However, in 2018 his company was acquired by Algas Atlánticas Algamar, S.L., where he now works as a biologist and technical director in the R&D department. In addition, Sergio fulfils various other roles in the company, including technical responsibility for quality, food safety, environmental management and support for the commercial department. He also continues to be involved in R&D projects, new product development and representing the company at trade fairs and in the media. At the same time, he works as a consultant at the University of Santiago de Compostela, collaborating on projects aimed at cultivating macroalgae of commercial interest, in partnership with Algamar and the IGAFA (Instituto Galego de Formación en Acuicultura).
Leonel Pereira
Leonel Pereira has a degree in Biology and a PhD in Biology, specialising in Cell Biology, from the University of Coimbra, where he is currently an Associate Assistant Professor. As well as teaching at this university, he is a researcher at the Centre for Functional Ecology (CFE). His interests centre mainly on Marine Biodiversity (algae), Marine Biotechnology (bioactive compounds from algae) and Marine Ecology (environmental assessment).
Since 2008, he has been the author and editor of the electronic publication MACOI - Portal Português das Macroalgas. Since 2018, he has been a member of the editorial board of the scientific journals Marine Drugs and Applied Sciences (Journal of Applied Phycology, Botanica Marina), where he has written several special issues. Throughout his career, he has authored more than 20 books, more than 170 indexed articles and more than 77 book chapters. He has given more than two hundred lectures and oral communications at various national and international scientific events. He currently coordinates the Master's programme in Biodiversity and Plant Biotechnology and various national and international research projects. He was awarded the Francisco de Holanda Prize (Honourable Mention) in 1998 and, more recently, the King Carlos Sea Prize (18th edition), and won the CHOICE Prize - outstanding academic title award 2016 - Book title: Edible Seaweeds of the World, CRC Press. He is part of ‘The World's Top 2% Scientists 2024’ list created by Stanford University and Elsevier.
Luís Menezes Pinheiro
Luís Menezes Pinheiro, a professor and researcher at the University of Aveiro, is the coordinator of the National Committee for the Ocean Sciences Decade for Sustainable Development 2021-2030. This Committee's mission is to promote and coordinate Portugal's action to achieve the Decade's goals, with a particular focus on the Atlantic, closely related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. He is a lecturer in the Department of Geosciences (Dgeo) at the University of Aveiro and a researcher at CESAM - Center for Environmental and Marine Studies.
Marta Pontes
Marta Pontes studied at the University of Porto and Porto Business School and is currently a councillor in Matosinhos City Council, responsible for the areas of Promotion and Support for Economic Development Activities and Internationalization. Under her leadership, Matosinhos has stood out as an attractive territory for investment. She has also promoted strategic initiatives to boost the region's competitiveness, such as the “Greater Porto” international brand, which aims to attract international investment through cooperation with Porto and Gaia.
Tom Fleming
Tom Fleming is a global authority on cultural policy and creative industries. His work focuses on advising governments, municipalities, and institutions worldwide to develop effective research, policy, strategy, and action in the context of a more digital, creative, and sustainable world. Over the past 20 years, he has led strategic research projects across all regions of the world. His portfolio includes national strategies for cultural and creative industries in diverse countries such as Malaysia, Jamaica, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Ukraine, Egypt, Moldova, Mongolia, Brazil, and Kuwait. He has led studies and strategies for cultural and creative industries in 100 cities globally. He has also been responsible for evaluation and insight studies and provided consultancy on regulation, investment, and new economy clusters. Tom is a recognized speaker, skilled at translating complex issues into accessible action plans, with experience in conferences worldwide
Rui Paula
Rui Paula is a renowned Portuguese chef who was born in Porto in 1967. He began his career in 1994 with the Cêpa Torta restaurant in Alijó, and later in 2007 opened DOC, in the heart of the Douro Wine Region. In 2010, he opened the DOP restaurant at the Palácio das Artes in Porto and, between 2011 and 2016, he was Consulting Chef at the Vidago Palace Hotel, one of Portugal's most famous historic luxury hotels.
Rui Paula also had a restaurant in Recife, Brazil, from 2013 to 2018, in partnership with João Carlos Pais Mendonça. In 2014, he opened the Casa de Chá da Boa Nova restaurant in Leça da Palmeira, which was awarded 2 Michelin Stars. Since 2014, he has been a judge on the MasterChef Portugal programme and was named Chef of the Year in 2020 by the Expresso newspaper.
He is known for his ethno-emotional cuisine, which combines Portuguese culinary traditions with modern techniques, always focusing on the quality of the products and the preservation of genuine flavours. Rui Paula is also an advocate of using regional and seasonal products, respecting the cycles of nature.
In addition to his culinary career, Rui Paula has been invited to represent Portuguese gastronomy at various international events and is the author of award-winning books on cookery. He continues to innovate and invest in his projects, always accompanied by his dedicated team and family.