Carlos Arriaga

The expression "born with a silver spoon in his mouth" could easily be adapted, in the case of Carlos Arriaga, to "born with a kitchen knife in his hand." A Lisbon native, Arriaga's interest in cooking was evident from the age of five, when he would accompany his grandmother to the fish market to choose the catch of the day. "Before I could properly carry on a conversation, I was able to name every single type of fish, " he says. And such a love for fresh fish and seafood clearly set the professional path Arriaga would later follow in life.

From the age of 15, even before finishing High School, Arriaga knew that he wanted to become a professional chef. And shortly after graduating in 1996, he enrolled in a vocational training course in cooking and pastry arts at the School of Hotel Management and Tourism in Coimbra, northern Portugal. While in school, Arriaga completed several professional internships at some prestigious hotel restaurants such as Pousada Nossa Senhora de Assuncao in Arriaolos, Alentejo (southern Purtugal) and Pousada Santa Cristina in Condeixa, near Coimbra (northern Portugal), a Relais & Chateaux property. That same year, Jose Bouza Serrano, the newly appointed Ambassador of Portugal to the Holy See, was vacationing in the Douro Valley. After a three day stay at Vintage House Hotel and tasting Arriaga's cooking, he invited him to move to Rome and cook at the Embassy. At the tender age of 22, Arriage became Chef de Cuisine at the Official Residence of the Ambassador of Portugal to the Holy See-a huge honor and responsibility that Arriaga embraced completely.

In September 2002, upon visiting his good friend, colleague and ex-cooking school classmate Francisco Rosa in New York, Arriaga could not resist the allure of having "Big Apple" experience, and accepted the position of Chef de Cuisine at Alfama.

Arriaga's vision, like Rosa's, is to showcase the newest culinary trends in Portugal, that is, innovative representations of traditional Portuguese cuisine using only the freshest ingredients.

 

Chef's Recipes :

Red Snapper with Clams & Potato Pancakes
Lamb Chanfana

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