Erratic rains dictate menu at three-star Michelin restaurant in Brazil

At Brazil’s Tuju, Climate Shapes the Fine-Dining Menu Climate adaptation has reached the world of fine dining. At Tuju, a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Brazil, erratic rainfall keeps chef Ivan Ralston and gastronomic researcher Katherina Cordas constantly adapting.

The couple spent two years studying local ingredients, mainly from Sao Paulo state, but using them at their peak can be challenging. In a region where summer storms bring chaos and reservoirs run dry in winter, flexibility is essential, Cordas said.

Tuju is located in Sao Paulo, a megalopolis of 12 million people. In April, it secured its third Michelin star alongside another city restaurant, Evvai, making them the first two Latin American restaurants to receive the top culinary honour.

Ivan Ralston (C) and Katherina Cordas (2-R), owners of the TUJU restaurant, work with the cooks in the kitchen, in Sao Paulo, Brazil the first restaurant in Latin America to receive three Michelin stars. — AFP

Tuju offers four menus, named “Humidity”, “Rain”, “Gale” and “Drought”, but they are not tied to fixed dates. Instead, they follow the weather.

“Sao Paulo is usually dry in July, but this year it stayed somewhat wetter because of El Nino, so mushroom season lasted almost twice as long. You always have to stay alert and adapt”, Ralston said.

The restaurant’s 10-course tasting menu draws primarily on ingredients from small-scale producers across Sao Paulo state, including sardines, pork, artichokes, chestnuts, grapes, guava and capers. Michelin praised the restaurant for combining modern techniques with creativity and extensive research.

“The pursuit of perfection is superficial. What we promise is a genuine experience”, said Ralston, who trained in leading kitchens in Spain and Japan.

A cook works in TUJU restaurant, the first restaurant in Latin America to receive three Michelin stars. — AFP

‘Pay attention’

Ralston leads eight young chefs, mostly women, who work in silence and synchrony in an open kitchen at the centre of the minimalist dining room.

Cordas moves between the restaurant’s nine green marble tables, where diners pay 1,650 reais, about $320, for the tasting menu.

Ralston is frustrated by diners who visit mainly to create social media content.

“Eating is a moment to pay attention to details”, he said. “My advice would be: stop working on the marketing of living and enjoy life a little more!” The experience begins with cocktails beneath a towering jabuticaba tree and ends on a rooftop terrace with sweeping views, chocolates and honey from native stingless bees.

Cooks work in the kitchen of the TUJU restaurant, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the first restaurant in Latin America to receive three Michelin stars. — AFP

Ralston opened Tuju in 2014 and earned its first Michelin star months later, followed by a second. The restaurant closed during the Covid-19 pandemic, after which Ralston and Cordas spent two years researching Brazilian cuisine before reopening in 2023.

Tuju is named after a Latin American bird. Sao Paulo now has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other city in Latin America, reflecting the city’s considerable economic and culinary wealth. — AFP