Rio de Janeiro
The Spanish chef Daniel Redondo, who opened the Maní restaurant in São Paulo together with the chef Helena Rizzo, to whom he was married, died this Friday (24). At the age of 46, Redondo suffered a motorcycle accident there is still no confirmation as to where the accident occurred.
The news was confirmed this Saturday (25) by Helena Rizzo and shared by the Roca family at the helm of the awardwinning Spanish restaurant El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, run by brothers Joan, Josep and Jordi.
Redondo was the head chef at the restaurant at the age of 27, where he met Helena Rizzo, who had interned at the restaurant.
In 2006, the two opened Maní, a restaurant that combined the techniques of avantgarde Spanish cuisine led by Ferran Adrià with the exploration of Brazilian ingredients.
“I remember in 2008 we welcomed the entire Spanish team here in Brazil, at the moment when Spain was experiencing a special moment and sending the message that every place.” [país] “You should look at your surroundings,” says Helena.
This policy was evident in ingredients like taioba and tucupi, which at the time were still rarely found on tasting menus at restaurants in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro—a trend that Maní popularized nearly two decades later. Redondo was part of the restaurant team until 2016, when Helena took over the kitchen completely.
“He loved Brazil, he loved caipirinhas, he loved real cuisine. He enjoyed eating and getting to know the producers here. When we came here.” [abrir o Maní] I had a desire to do something, to be creative. “Everyone who lived with him has this memory,” says Helena.
“What an extraordinary talent. Born to cook. A persistent, talented person,” reads a message on the Instagram account of the restaurant El Celler de Can Roca, accompanying a photo of Redondo.
According to the 50 Best list, El Celler de Can Roca was voted the best restaurant in the world in 2013 and 2015 it has been on the top five list since 2009.
Spaniard Oscar Bosch, who runs Tanit and Nit Bar de Tapas at Jardins in São Paulo, worked with Redondo at El Celler de Can Roca and also spent time with the chef here in São Paulo.
“He was a genius, he made unusual combinations in his head and was very demanding in the kitchen. I have three employees who worked with him and they say: ‘He taught me a lot, even though he was brave’.”
Redondo grew up in the kitchen of El Celler over the years, Bosch says, but it wasn’t until Brazil that he had the opportunity to express his personality in the kitchen in a more literary way.
“Here he created a cuisine with all his Spanish skills and knowledge of Brazilian fruits and ingredients. He loved Brazil.”