Janaína Torres’ origins are intrinsically linked to her cuisine, which is also used as a tool to support various social causes.
Thursday 21st, the 50 Best announced an important novelty for gastronomy: the Brazilian Janaína Torres was elected Best Female Chef of 2024. The title was followed by two other awards, one of which was announced at the end of November last year, destined for one of her restaurants, called Casa do Porco, ranked the 12th best in the world and the 4th best in Latin America.
What seems like a wave of luck, but is actually just the result of long years of study and work, was summed up by 50 Best as ‘the year of the jaguar’ (the chef’s nickname), and described by herself as “a year of recovery, of celebration”.
A chef, entrepreneur and mother, Torres is also an activist and uses her profession to support social causes. She, who has already declared that she is not interested in serving only the privileged class, says that much of her is due to her path and her origins.
“I was born in public housing, where everything is shared. I strongly believe in accessibility because I needed that access too,” he says. “Accessibility brings opportunity, and I want to help give those opportunities to others.”
Its activities include actions such as training chefs working in public schools in São Paulo to improve student nutrition by reformulating the menu; and the mobilization of chefs and hospitality workers to pressure the current government during the pandemic period to provide financial support to the extremely affected area.
His ideals are deeply linked to his cuisine, which becomes very clear when he recalls an interview given to the Provoca program, hosted by Marcelo Tas on the Cultura channel in August last year: “eating is a political act. Through food, we can transform the entire politics of a country. I worked for five years in the public schools of São Paulo, doing a very interesting and exciting job. Every Tuesday I went shopping and went to ETEC to personally train 60 education chefs school of public schools, making 10 recipes, and from then on these schools received these products in kind and all canned and ultraprocessed lunches were exchanged for in kind […] I hope that the topic of school meals, food and nutrition can really have an important role and dialogue for all of us.”
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
