When Casa do Porco opened in 2015, even the chef had doubts about its future. But on a downtown São Paulo street, one once replete of prostitution and drug sales, emerged one of the best restaurants on the planet, according to the recently released World's 50 Best rankings by the British magazine Restaurant.
At Casa do Porco, Jefferson Rueda built an entire menu based on pork. This year the restaurant reached 39th place on the list, leaving behind other Brazilian restaurants that have already climbed the Olympus, among the D.O.M., by Alex Atala, now in 54th place.
Rueda reminisced over unusual origins of the restaurant in the shadow of the Copan building—where his wife, Janaina, runs the famous Dona Onça's Bar—at the awards ceremony on Tuesday in Singapore.
"I'm very happy. Besides promoting Brazilian gastronomy, it's time to talk about the work we do at Casa do Porco, which is to take care of the entire food chain, guarantee sustainability and accessibility with a tasting menu at $ 125 for 15 thousand people a month, all this in an unlikely place, the center of São Paulo, frequented by all social classes."
Jeffinho, as he is known, defends cozy restaurants, where the salon and kitchen welcome the client for unique and fun experiences.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon