José Avillez worked in the kitchens of Ferran Adrià, Alain Ducasse and Eric Frechon. In 2008 he was invited to the post of Head Chef of the Tavares restaurant, where in little more than a year he was awarded a Michelin star. At the beginning of 2011 he left the Tavares restaurant in order to devote himself to two new projects: Cantinho do Avillez restaurant where he serves a simple but sophisticated cuisine and Belcanto restaurant where he offers haute cuisine and shares his inspirations, emotions and concerns through their culinary representations and illusions. José Avillez also heads a consultancy firm, José Avillez Consultoria, a catering firm, José Avillez Catering, as well as the take-away service JA em casa. He is currently writing his fourth book.
To José Avillez, cooking has always been a passion. Yet, it was
only in this senior year of the degree in Business Communication
that he decided to be a chef. In that same year, he participated in
individual study sessions with Maria de Lurdes Modesto and took a
traineeship in the kitchen of Antoine Westerman, at Fortaleza do
Guincho.
After finishing his degree, he accomplished his education by
taking several trips, training courses, traineeships and
professional experiences, namely his work with José Bento dos
Santos as Gastronomy Professional at Quinta do Monte D'Oiro, the
training at Alain Ducasse's school and the traineeship at Eric
Frechon's kitchen, at the Bristol Hotel, which now has three
Michelin stars. But it was the traineeship at El Bulli, with Ferran
Adrià that really changed his career.
The success of Um Chef em Sua Casa, his first book, made him
publish his second book Petiscar com Estilo, less than a year
later. With José Avillez Consulting, José Avillez and his team have
organized and edited cooking books in partnership with other
brands, companies and institutions, and have developed many other
projects, such as designing new restaurants and reorganizing
kitchens, creating recipes and food styling for photographic
sessions and publicity films.
José Avillez Catering was launched to meet the demand for a
catering service with his signature. With a personalized, versatile
service, José Avillez Catering is directed both to companies and
individuals. In addition to this catering service, José Avillez
also runs the take-away JA em casa, which offers fresh and frozen
meals, already packed and ready to take, ideal for daily life, and
the restaurant JA à mesa which serves quick high quality lunches
from Monday to Saturday. In collaboration with José Bento dos
Santos and Quinta do Monte D'Oiro, José Avillez launched three
wines with his signature: Tavares, Paisagens and JA.
Viewed as one of the great references in Portuguese cuisine, José
Avillez stands out by the strictness of his technique and for his
will to create and go beyond. To José Avillez, the cuisine
expresses different moments of knowledge, learning and reflection,
and reveals not only the evolution of the technique but also the
maturity, personality and soul of who creates it.