José Avillez
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
José Avillez is a Portuguese Chef (Distinguished as "Chef de l'Avenir 2005" by the International Gastronomy Academy)[1]
Biography
Was born in Cascais (small village near Lisbon) in 1979. At the age of ten he used to bake cakes with his sister, a year older, to sell to the family, their speciality was the orange sponge cake. In 1998, he completed the 12th grade specialising in arts, at the Cascais High school. In the same year he began his degree in corporate communication, at the Instituto Superior de Comunicação Empresarial, which he would finish in 2002. At the beginning of the 4th year of the degree, he rounded up a group of friends and together they attended a course of initiation to wine tasting at the Academia do Gosto, with Oenologist João Vila Maior and that was when a more serious taste for gastronomy and the culinary arts arose. He set out to get an education in wine and gastronomy, and that was when he went to Maria de Lourdes Modesto, a friend of the family an author of the bestseller Traditional Portuguese Cooking, to whom he confessed, for the first time, the will to become a Chef de Cuisine. That was when the turn from marketing to gastronomy happened in the road of José Avillez. The final trainings were already made in Hotels and in professional kitchens and he ended up choosing for theme of his final paper: Portuguese Gastronomy Identity Vs Image, where he integrates a study of one hundred interviews to professionals and opinion leaders of the area, Portuguese and foreigners residing in Portugal, having had as Counsellor the Prof. Rui Vinhas da Silva e has paper patron Madam Maria de Lourdes Modesto. From there on, and already assured of his art trainings and formations followed, always pointing out the huge influence and help provided by Maria de Lourdes Modesto and José Bento dos Santos (Quinta do Monte d'Oiro), with whom he learned and continues to learn every day.
[edit] Life Style Cooking Project
All that lives feeds! Eating was always the first commandment of life, but the transformation of this intuitive action of survival is, certainly the first manifestation of intellectual superiority. And if in the beginning there was hunger, civilized man, in opposition to the barbarian, eats not only due to that urge but also and especially to transform this circumstance into a moment of social gathering and great communication potential: “we do not sit at a table to eat” – one can read in Plutarco – “but to eat together.” The appearing of what we call today as fast food , has revolutionized the way we look upon meals which, seeming to go back a few million years, once again are fundamentally a means to fulfil an elementary need as opposed to turning that circumstance into a moment of social gathering! Are we walking a path that will again lead us into a barbaric world? Or is it that this haste for living that engulfs us more and more does not allow us to even choose what we eat? It was in this concern and in an attempt to reinsert into our habits and into our agitated social agenda a well earned pause to savour a good conversation, that Life – Style Cooking is created. Always having the learning and entertainment, the discovery of flavours among friends, the ideal way to combine and to serve them as the main concepts. Here we do not let time limit our choices, our evolution and seek instead to transform this, almost mechanical and careless, need to ease our hunger into an act of strong social content, into a moment of relaxation and pleasure, feeding not only the body but fundamentally the soul! From the selection of the ingredients to the choice of those that should, with them, be combined, to the techniques used to cook them and the way one chooses to present them on a plate, a Chef uses his sense of aesthetics, his conception of beauty and his creation. This is an art that takes its place among all others, literature, painting and music, with the greatness of having a more intense and direct relation with nature and with the advantage of being a popular art, shared by a wider number of participants… after all, it’s the only art that is truly fulfilling.
Life Style Cooking services: [2]
Gourmet Catering From now on it’s easier to gather a group of friends around your table; we take our cuisine to you, with the assurance of the quality and professionalism with which Life Style Cooking Catering will serve you. Our personalised services can be taken to you anywhere you wish, in the comfort of your home or in formal meeting, a business lunch, a cocktail or a wedding party we will be there to offer unforgettable meals, enjoy the best wines and delicacies. We bet on quality and difference. Contact us, surprise your friends and set a difference yourself.
Dining with the Chef Is the most recent addition to Life Style Coking services! Get together a group of 6 to 14 friends who like to travel down the roads of gastronomy and indulge in a meal prepared by the Chef. Right in front of you the Chef will offer you the flavours and the knowledge of a cuisine in constant evolution. Pose him all your questions; understand what’s behind certain techniques, surrender to the boldest combinations and marvel at the proposed tastes. A memorable meal in an undoubtful, very different atmosphere at Albatroz Hotel in Cascais (Portugal).
Kitchen Sessions / Cooking courses The cooking courses present various themes, from the basics and tricks for a different meal to more elaborate and always innovative recipes. Each course has an approximate duration of three hours and comprises the cooking of five to nine recipes, followed by the tasting of the cooked dishes. The courses are given at the Hotel Albatroz, Palácio dos Pelicanos Building.
Consulting (Food Concepts) An analysis of the concept and of the gastronomic offer of the space to restore or create is the corner stone on which all later business development work is set. The creation and structuring of the restaurant, balcony, bar and wine menus as well as kitchen staff, wait staff, implementation of proposals and quality control are services provided by Food Concepts Consulting. Always keeping in mind the singularity of each project/business, our services are essentially an answer to your needs and doubts.
[edit] Publications
2006 - José Avillez - Um Chef em sua casa (2nd edition)[3]
