Meet the chef who boasts 25 years of history and rewards with DOM
Geovane de Moraes Carneiro was almost 18 years old when he left a farm without electricity on the outskirts of Conceição do Coité, a city in Bahia with almost 70 thousand inhabitants, about 200 kilometers from Salvador.
It was the early 1990s and a severe drought – similar to the one we are experiencing today – drove the boy away. The solution was to exchange his horse for luck. First in a favela in Itapuã, in the capital of Bahia, then in São Paulo.
Without destiny, your destiny has become the DOM. But no, it wasn’t right away. Geovane experienced the hardships of unemployment by sharing a house with a cousin in Embu das Artes; took risks and failed miserably as a green coconut seller; He capitulated by working as a boy in a bar in Largo da Batata, in Pinheiros.
The king of Coxinha
Don’t come with romance. After washing many dishes and serving many juices, one day the boy was forced to replace a cook. Cooking, to be honest, wasn’t even a man’s thing in the mind of the boy who grew up eating chicken on the way home from the farm and dreaming of the vatapá his mother prepared during Holy Week.
However, Geovane was the ideal type of employee. Because he was so attentive to his colleague’s work, he managed to improvise chopsticks – which evaporated from the stove. Result: he piled up yet another task.
The hassle was such that the handyman started looking for a less demanding job, perhaps as a waiter. Two or three years of countless kitchens and apprenticeships in a French restaurant led him to meet a newcomer to the capital’s food scene: Alex Atala.
Atala’s chef
More than a sous-chef, Atala’s right-hand man never leaves the kitchen. He was by your side and listening to you in your first authorial home, NaMesa. For years it has guaranteed the quality of all the products that reach the table and is a great partner in the development and refinement of recipes.
Perhaps, between 1999 and 2000, when there was à la carte and buffet service at number 549 Rua Barão de Capanema, this was not yet the case. In his own way, however, the Bahian chef was leaving his mark in the DOM
His first dish to appear on the menu was sesame-crusted tuna, accompanied by fresh heart of palm and mushrooms and a honey, lemon and ginger sauce.
Off the menu, the chicken prepared for the brigade’s festivities has become an attraction for the brigades at nearby restaurants. Because so many people started craving it, it became one of the most delightful ballads São Paulo has ever known, namely Galinhada do Dalva e Dito, from 2011 to 2016.
Another Geovanista landmark was the coconut tartare with calamari, inspired by his visits to the market, every Thursday, across the street from the restaurant. It may just be a nice narrative, but the chef was worried about seeing coconut waste at the coconut water stand and ended up trading on the main ingredient of his delicate – and sustainable – creation.
Trained in practice, Geovane became accustomed to caviar rather than tucupi. He found his vocation in the blade of the knife, in Brazilianness and in the flame of the stove. He has won the unconditional trust of the most famous Brazilian chef in the world. It is fundamental to the DOM’s 25 years and two Michelin stars
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.
