Unexpectedly, Rodrigo Oliveira, 42 years old, who currently runs the famous Mocotó restaurant in São Paulo, will be the new judge on the Masterchef Brasil program on Band, thus Rodrigo Oliveira will be the chef who replaces Fogaça.
Oliveira will temporarily replace chef Henrique Fogaça in the 10th edition of the show.
Fogaça, who had been punctual in recent years and left the program for personal reasons, will take a break this season.
Thus, chef Mocotó will be joined by Helena Rizzo, from Maní, and Erick Jacquin, who will be the only experienced presenter.
Filming for the tenth season of Master Chef Brasil begins in the second half of March, with the premiere scheduled for May.
So learn more about Rodrigo Oliveira, the chef who replaces Fogaça.
Family business
In 1993, Rodrigo Oliveira began working at Mocotó, a traditional restaurant serving northern São Paulo cuisine founded in 1974 and inherited from his father and founder Zé Almeida, who was born in the interior of Pernambuco and moved to São Paulo.
Later, the restaurant's name comes from the Mocotó broth that the restaurant has been serving for around 49 years.
It has been a destination for food lovers since the beginning, although its location in Vila Medeiros, in the north of São Paulo, is outside the city's traditional gastronomic circuit.
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Furthermore, over the years, the restaurant's DNA has spread throughout the city-state.
In addition to Balaio IMS, installed inside the Moreira Salles Institute building on Av. Paulista, Rodrigo and his team maintain the Mocotó unit at the Mocotó café in Shopping D, Marketplace de Pinheiros.
Today, this restaurant beats the competition from other local restaurants specializing in the northern part of the country.
The tapioca cube
Rodrigo Oliveira is credited as the inventor of the snack, which has become a favorite not only in restaurants, but also in bars, buffets and events.
The tapioca cube was served for the first time at Mocotó in 2004, initially outside the menu as an experiment inspired by colleague Adriana Cymes.
“We tested a lot until we came up with something simpler like tapioca, milk and coalho cheese. Another touch we have is the pinch of white pepper, which has a huge affinity with dairy products,” said Rodrigo in an interview with Menu in 2018.
Man of the Year
Initially, Rodrigo Oliveira was elected Boy of the Year 2012 by GQ Brazil in the Gastronomy category.
On this occasion, the expert in the world of gastronomy, Alexandra Forbes, kept the following story:
“Ask Massimo Bottura (…), owner of Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, what he thinks is important to show someone in São Paulo.
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Who would have thought five years ago that one of the most important chefs on the planet would spend his time traveling to the poor Villa Medeiros, in the north of São Paulo, to eat beans and pork rinds in a noisy and relaxed environment?
He didn’t just go there and leave as a fan of Rodrigo Oliveira, the chef.”
“It’s an honor to be here among so many remarkable people, many of them my clients,” celebrated Rodrigo at the awards ceremony at Copacabana Palace, in Rio de Janeiro.
International award
In 2019, Mocotó was predicted to be the 43rd best restaurant by Latin America's 50 Best, the Latin arm of the biggest annual awards in the category, and rose to 23rd place in the southern and central continents two years later, in 2021, before leaving the list last year.
Furthermore, Quebrada Alimenteda, an NGO founded by Rodrigo and columnist Adriana Salay in 2021, was recognized by an international organization.
The initiative transformed the restaurant into a food distribution center for people and families in vulnerable situations in the North Zone of São Paulo during the pandemic.
The organization provides more than 100 meals per day and 400 basic food baskets per month.
Furthermore, Rodrigo became the owner of a Michelin star in 2018, through the corner Mocotó, a restaurant with an author profile that opened in 2013, but is now closed.
Services
For more information, visit Masterchef Brazil.