Rafa Costa e Silva
Affiliation
Lasai
Farm-to-table cuisine using local Rio de Janeiro producers and ingredients from personal gardens
i. Biography
Rafa Costa e Silva is a Rio de Janeiro-born chef and owner of Lasai, a Michelin-starred farm-to-table restaurant in Rio's Botafogo neighborhood that he opened in 2014. After earning a business degree, he trained at The Culinary Institute of America and spent a decade working internationally, including as executive chef at the two-Michelin-starred Mugaritz in Spain under Andoni Luis Aduriz, before returning to Brazil to establish his own restaurant. Lasai quickly earned a Michelin star and has been recognized as a gastronomic reference point in Rio, ranking #26 on Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants in 2018 and featuring a daily-changing 12-course tasting menu sourced from local producers and his own gardens.
The Archive
Selected Works & Focus Areas
Focus 01
Farm-to-table cuisine using local Rio de Janeiro producers and ingredients from personal gardens
Focus 02
Michelin-starred restaurant Lasai with daily-changing 12-course tasting menu
Focus 03
Reducing Lasai from 45 to 10 covers per service for intimate dining experience
Focus 04
Pioneering modernist cuisine in Rio de Janeiro
Focus 05
Training and developing kitchen staff in Rio's culinary landscape