# In Curitiba, star chefs argue for a cuisine that runs from producer to kitchen team The Basque Culinary Center congress brought together Alex Atala, Manu Buffara, Joan Roca and Michel Bras to discuss origin-protected ingredients, research and more humane working hours in restaurants. - Section: Gourmet - Published: November 13, 2026 - Address: https://ceoone.com.br/en/article/in-curitiba-star-chefs-argue-for-a-cuisine-that-runs-from-producer-to-kitchen-team - Em português: https://ceoone.com.br/artigo/em-curitiba-chefs-estrelados-defendem-uma-cozinha-que-vai-do-produtor-a-equipe.md ![Chef Joan Roca, with grey hair and dressed in black, speaks and gestures at an outdoor lectern](https://pub-b80e49b2737940b3ab5d3f20d0578192.r2.dev/artigos/em-curitiba-chefs-estrelados-defendem-uma-cozinha-que-vai-do-produtor-a-equipe-foto.webp) Photo: Generalitat de Catalunya/Wikimedia Commons ## Key points - The Basque Culinary Center congress in Curitiba brought together Alex Atala, Manu Buffara, Joan Roca and Michel Bras. - It highlighted southern Brazil's Geographical Indication products and a Basque cheesecake fermented to look like wool. - Joan Roca argued for more humane working hours, and Michel Bras was honoured with versions of his gargouillou. A dish served in a restaurant holds many worlds. That of the chef and the team, who come from different backgrounds. That of the producer, devoted to the ingredients of a particular territory. And that of the researcher, looking for techniques that open up new possibilities of flavour and texture. This broader understanding of gastronomy guided the Basque Culinary Center congress, held at the Memorial de Curitiba on Sunday, November 8. The conference, organised by the traditional Basque university and by chef Manu Buffara, a member of the BCC board, featured talks and tastings. Taking part were the Spaniard Joan Roca, of El Celler de Can Roca, holder of three Michelin stars; the Brazilian Alex Atala, of D.O.M., which has two; and the Frenchman Michel Bras, creator of Le Suquet, a reference in the use of local ingredients, who asked the French guide to drop him from its pages. ## The territory on the plate Because it took place in Curitiba, where Manu runs the restaurant that bears her name, the event highlighted the gastronomic identity of Paraná and the two other southern states. The discussion covered products with Geographical Indication, the seal granted by Brazil's National Institute of Industrial Property. Paraná leads the country with 29 registrations; Rio Grande do Sul has 16 and Santa Catarina 12. Across Brazil there are 183. Chefs from the region prepared a tasting with part of this diversity. "Knowing the name of the producer of our ingredients brings a cultural side to food, which creates more connection with the consumer," said Felipe Cavalcanti, of Tekoa Gastronomia, in Curitiba. ![Alex Atala, with a red beard and white chef's jacket, arms crossed in a restaurant dining room](https://pub-b80e49b2737940b3ab5d3f20d0578192.r2.dev/artigos/em-curitiba-chefs-estrelados-defendem-uma-cozinha-que-vai-do-produtor-a-equipe-atala.webp) Alex Atala, of D.O.M., one of the chefs at the congress. Photo: Secretaria Especial da Cultura/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) ## Research and fermentation There was also room for innovation. Eneko Izkue, a professor of ageing at the BCC, presented an experiment that reproduced the texture of sheep's wool on a Basque cheesecake. The dessert is traditional in the Basque Country, where sheep are raised for milk and dairy products such as Idiazábal cheese, also used in versions of the cake. The idea was to give the dessert a new face. Izkue and his team turned to fermentation with the Penicillium mould, widely used in cheeses and known for growing a fluffy surface. Different strains were tested on visits to producers until they reached the aroma and texture of wool. In tastings the result drew mixed reactions, the professor said, but it did its job: showing other possibilities for fermentation. "It is still a preservation technique, but today it has become a creative tool to obtain different flavours, textures and aromas from the same product," he said. The recipe is in the book "Fermentos", published by the BCC this year. ## A revolution in working hours Innovation, however, is not only about technique. It is also about how a business is run. Joan Roca, who runs El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain, with his family, spoke about the exchange with younger chefs. "They bring an optimistic outlook adapted to the rapid transformations of the world," he explained. The average age of El Celler's staff is 26. The chef credits this generation with the overhaul of working hours at the restaurant, carried out 13 years ago. "I believe a humanist and emotional revolution is under way, with proper working hours, in which people start to take care of themselves," he said. According to Roca, one of the reasons his son and nephew chose to stay in the family restaurant was this change in routine. ## Michel Bras's gargouillou The meeting of generations ended in a tribute to Michel Bras, 80. "Michel treats nature not only as a source of ingredients but also of inspiration," said Manu Buffara. On stage, Bras told the story of his most famous dish, the gargouillou, created in the 1980s: a salad bringing together vegetables, roots, seeds, flowers and herbs of different colours and textures, each prepared to respect its own character. The inspiration came from the landscape of Aubrac, in southern France, which he used to walk barefoot. For the tribute, chefs including Alex Atala made a version of the gargouillou with Brazilian ingredients. "Each ingredient has its own point, its smell, its flavour," Bras explained. On the plate, he said, vegetables are not a side but the main thing. "They are messengers of a fragile, changing landscape. They reflect the rhythms of nature." ## Sources and editorial notes - Based on Folha de S.Paulo, November 13, 2026 edition, Comida section, page C12: report by Matheus Ferreira, who travelled at the invitation of the Basque Culinary Center. CEO ONE · https://ceoone.com.br