By Dani Machado
One of the best novelties in Brazilian gastronomy in recent times opened at the end of 2022 in Rio de Janeiro.
It is Tiara, from Masterchef and Iron Chef Rafa Gomes.
I was in Rio de Janeiro in March and could taste some dishes from the restaurant located in Rio Design Leblon.
I recommend!
If you don’t know Rafa, I’ll give you a brief resume of this famous chef.
To begin with, he is known for programs like MasterChef Profissionais, where he was champion in 2018, and Iron Chef Brasil, an absolute highlight in 2022.
A gastronomy graduate from the Institute of Culinary Education in New York, he has worked in renowned restaurants such as Eleven and Gramercy Tavern.
In the trajectory of 16 years abroad, he also adds to his resume the position of executive chef at Grand Coeur Paris alongside Mauro Colagreco.
And it was outside of Brazil that, in 2018, Rafa opened his first restaurant, Itacoá. He took the house to Rio de Janeiro the following year.
I have always been a fan of his. I admire his ability to employ classic techniques with local and fresh ingredients and transform simple foods into extremely delicate dishes.
About Tiara, I start with curiosity.
The name of Rafa’s second restaurant adds to the first one (Itacoá + Tiara), forming Itacoátiara, the neighborhood in Niterói where the chef grew up.
Genius!
Currently, the house is working with a lean and carefully elaborated menu.
But the idea is that soon it will start serving tasting menus.
There, the main ingredient is a duck, presented in different suggestions.
The most famous of these is the duck lacquered in honey and spices.
Tiara’s gastronomy also privileges seafood in light Mediterranean-inspired versions.
And what did I try on my visit?
I started with a scallop carpaccio, beautifully served with blinis and sour cream, and finished with berries gazpacho.
Then, to include duck in the meal, my order was foie pâté served in an authoritative and creative presentation with white port and grapes.
For the main course, I tried a novelty still off the menu: gnocchi with grana padano cream finished with Brazilian truffles, discovered in 2016 in Rio Grande do Sul.
And the dessert to finish was light but with many textures and flavors: tapioca sagu, passion fruit, and coconut.
Besides the à la carte menu, available at lunch and dinner, Tiara offers an executive menu at lunch from Monday to Friday.
In this service, the chef presents exclusive suggestions for the time, and the customer can choose to include dessert.
Did you take note of the hint? It is worth a lot.
With information from UOL