Manu Buffara: Noma Changed Her. Now She’s Changing Restaurants.

This week on Taqueando, Bill sits down with Chef Manu Buffara, one of Latin America’s most influential chefs and the force behind Manu in Curitiba, Brazil — consistently ranked among the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants.From her early days in journalism to training in Italy and staging at Noma, Manu shares how her global experiences shaped a deeply personal approach to cooking rooted in local ingredients, seasonality, and storytelling. But this conversation goes far beyond the plate.Manu breaks down:What “local” really means in Brazil — and why it’s about people, history, and economics, not just ingredients How working at Noma changed her philosophy on simplicity and product-driven cooking Why she moved away from cooking for awards and started cooking for herselfThe evolution of fine dining — and why toxic kitchen culture has no place in the futureHow she built a restaurant where staff actually have a life, with shorter hours and a healthier cultureHer foundation work feeding communities and empowering women in CuritibaPlus, Bill shares the story of dining at Manu during the pandemic — a deeply personal, unforgettable 11-course experience that captures what makes her restaurant so special. This is a conversation about food, empathy, leadership, and the future of restaurants — and why Curitiba might be one of the most exciting food cities you’re not talking about.Presented by mva.wine. First 20 people to subscribe using the code LAFOOD receive $50 off their first collection of this incredible wine.