Meet Onildo Rocha, award-winning chef behind Notiê by Priceless and Abaru by Priceless
Born in Paraiba, Onildo Rocha wanted to be a violinist. He even played in the Paraíba Youth Symphonic Orchestra, but life took him behind the stove.
With a family who owned a snack bar in João Pessoa (PB), he took over one of the units and has found himself there. Hyperactive – and, in addition, creative – he began to organize events and, for these occasions, created foods that were rarely seen in the region.
It was in this daring way that he grew up and opened his first restaurant in the capital of Paraíba, Cozinha Roccia, recognized as one of the top restaurants in the world by the Italian guide Identitá Golose.
Without identifying with terms such as Northeastern fusion cuisine, he coined his own brand. He borrowed the term "armorial movement" from his fellow countryman Ariano Suassuna and created armorial cuisine, which honors his Northeastern roots by betting on haute cuisine.
”I like to work by building emotions.
Onildo Rocha, chef do Notiê por Priceless e do Abaru por Priceless
Little by little, Paraíba became smaller and, in November 2021, he opened Espaço Priceless, a complex that houses the restaurants Notiê por Priceless and Abaru por Priceless at the top of Shopping Light, in the heart of São Paulo.
Award
The opening was just over two years ago, but Onildo has already won the chef of the year award from Veja São Paulo Comer & Beber 2022/2023 magazine, one of the main awards in Brazilian gastronomy, and his Notiê por Priceless has been considered the best Brazilian restaurant for two consecutive years. "The award was one of the most memorable moments of my life. We always think our son is handsome, but when experts say he is handsome, it's different," says the chef, who realized he was on the right track.
In 2024, NOTIE by Priceless was recommended by the Michelin Guide.
”I'm not from São Paulo, so opening Notiê by Priceless and Abaru by Priceless was a very big project. When we inaugurated it, I felt fulfilled.
Onildo Rocha
Proud of his land and aware of the importance of sustainable agriculture, Onildo seeks to work with small producers and, more than that, he wants to get to know them.
He wants to know the story of those who grow it, the ingredient path, from the land to the plate, always respecting nature. That's why, for the four seasons of his restaurant, he went on expeditions with his team to the chosen region.
For the first, Sertões, he discovered ingredients that led him to create dishes such as goat with rapadura, carrots and backcountry couscous. In the second season, which celebrated the Amazon, he made açaí one of the main ingredients on the menu. In Matas & Mares, a season that explored the Atlantic Forest region, it was the turn of Oysters and Honey.
And now, for this fourth season of Notiê by Priceless, Terra Altar, which is a celebration of the Chapada Diamantina, traveled with its team in search of people and products and came back with items such as manioc, red fruits and palm in its luggage.
”For his creative boldness in presenting a unique and plural Brazil, Onildo Rocha takes the title chef of the year from Veja São Paulo Comer & Beber.
Arnaldo Lorençato, crítico de restaurantes da revista Veja São Paulo
”I like to connect with people and I choose ingredients with such relationship in mind. We are all interconnected, and this is what I want to show with what I serve," he says.
For Onildo, it's priceless when he hears a customer sit down at Notiê by Priceless and, after dinner, say that the experience brought back good memories.
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