• Ando x Manu collaboration on 10th and 11th June

    About Manu Buffara, Executive Chef and Owner of Manu

    Voted Latin America’s Best Female Chef in 2022 by 50 Best Academy, the southern Brazilian chef, Manoella ‘Manu’ Buffara Ramos boasts a collection of national and international prizes and honors such as no.46 in The Best Chef Awards worldwide ranking, winner of the Ethics and Sustainability Award in La Liste 2022, a fixed juror of the Basque Culinary Center since 2019, and one of the stars of the last four versions of the Gelinaz chefs’ collective. According to acclaimed chef Alex Atala and writer and food curator, Andrea Petrini, Manu has single-handedly “placed the city of Curitiba in South Brazil on the gastronomic world map.”

     

    Opened in January 2011, Manu Restaurant is the first restaurant in Brazil headed up by a woman chef that serves only a tasting menu. The restaurant has five tables, serves 20 people per night and is in tune with cutting- edge culinary trends, working with fresh, seasonal ingredients. 60% of the products used in the recipes are plant based. Manu knows each ingredient she uses in her preparations, as well as each person who supplies them, 80% of whom live within a 300 km radius from the restaurant. Always made with fresh, natural ingredients and a Brazilian touch. Since day one of Manu Restaurant, Manu Buffara has been involved in sustainability efforts aimed at causes such as preserving native Brazilian bees and incentivizing young producers not to abandon fishing and agriculture in Paraná, and Urban Gardens, which encourages the planting of vegetables in vacant lots all around Curitiba city.

     

    From November 2022 to November 2023, Manu is currently running Fresh in the Garden, a year of Manu Buffara at Soneva Resort in the Maldives. Part of her Curitiba team will move to Maldives for a year and cook with the incredible ingredients from the island gardens as well as from Sri Lanka, India and Asia. The restaurant will have 35 seats and a menu with 30% vegan recipes; 30% vegetarian recipes and the rest based on seafood.

     

    In 2020 she created Manu Buffara Institute, responsible for various programs including the annual event known as Alimenta Curitiba which distributes food and holds educational and social inclusion events in the more needy areas of Curitiba. She is also one of the chefs involved with Mulheres do Bem, a group of women chefs who serve 400 lunches to street dwellers once a week at a restaurant of the Curitiba city government.

     

    The full sample collaboration menu is as below:

     

    Snacks

    Cauliflower / passion fruit

    By Chef Manu Buffara

     

    Tuna / clams / caviar

    By Chef Manu Buffara

     

    Wagyu / seaweed / avocado

    By Chef Agustin Balbi

     

    Peas / Ika / chawanmushi

    By Chef Agustin Balbi

    —

    Langostinos / Tomatoes

    By Chef Manu Buffara

    —

    Tai kobujime / Jalapeño

    By Chef Agustin Balbi

    —

    Leek / Spinach

    By Chef Manu Buffara

    —

    Kinmedai / Shiso

    By Chef Agustin Balbi

    —

    Carrot / Yeast

    By Chef Manu Buffara

    —

    Angus Beef / Corn textures

    By Chef Agustin Balbi

    —

    Hokkaido scallop / Moqueca / Caldoso rice

    By Chef Agustin Balbi

    —

    Desserts

    Uni / Yogurt

    By Chef Manu Buffara

    —

    Hazelnut / Coffee

    By Chef Agustin Balbi

    —

    Dulces

     

    The Andō x Manu special collaboration menu will be priced at HK$2,888 + 10% service charge per guest and will be available for dinner only on the 10th and 11th of June. Reservations can be made now via SevenRooms HERE.