CHEF RICARDO HELTON - «We have a powerful ancestry».

He is an active voice in promoting Angolan cuisine, not only domestically but internationally. Ricardo Helton is respected for his creative cuisine, which blends traditional Angolan ingredients with contemporary culinary techniques. Passionate about his country's cuisine, developing new talent in gastronomy contributes to the development of the sector in Angola, one of the topics he discussed with Villas&Golfe.

How has your international experience influenced the way you view Angolan cuisine today?
Having the opportunity to study and work outside of Angola gave me the opportunity to grow and see the business differently, focusing on efficiency and teamwork. Bringing knowledge and management tools to the restaurant industry is essential. Most technicians in the industry have little experience or training in the field and see the restaurant industry as a last resort. However, it's important to motivate and train workers in this sector. I firmly believe that training can transform excellence in the restaurant industry. I understand that it is through training that we will achieve the same level as the world's leading gastronomic institutions.

Given Angola's agricultural potential, what do you consider essential to promote greater integration between agribusiness and haute cuisine in the country?
I think it's still too early to talk about haute cuisine in our country. We have a long way to go, and what can further enhance this future high standard we aspire to is the appreciation of our origins and national production. This has to be the path, and agriculture is an extremely important tool to further this path. Today, we have excellent national products. Large industries have done incredible work in this area, but this still doesn't reach all restaurants, and there are still, unfortunately, stock shortages of some products. However, we need to continue to stimulate the value chain with incentives, starting with small farmers, giving them the opportunity to access the supply market, explaining the value of paying taxes and being organized, and thus moving towards the sustainable growth of higher-quality national products.
We will certainly be building a more prosperous restaurant chain.

Tortulho risotto was featured in the World Tourism Organization's book on African cuisine. How did you discover this ingredient, and what is its importance in Angolan food?
Having the opportunity to represent Angola at the UNWTO was wonderful. Tortulho is a mushroom that uses the ancient technique of drying food, and according to our tradition, it was used when people made long journeys, as it always preserved its shape.
I grew up eating tortulho with my grandmother, fried, pickled, in funge, etc. It is one of my favorite local ingredients and in my vision, elevating Angola will always be with internationally inspired recipes but with local ingredients.

As a coach and mentor to young chefs, how do you convey the importance of using local and seasonal produce in building a more sustainable kitchen?
I love Angolan cuisine; it's rich, and we have a powerful ancestry. New Angolan chefs should be more connected to the past to build a solid future. In my view, Angolan cuisine has always been slow, born from stews, from hours of cooking beans wrapped in the smoothness of palm oil, from watching the transformation of kizaca. We need to think beyond flavor: we must be aware that our cuisine is a form of cultural expression, a living art. And it is by combining ingredients, techniques, and our tradition, like a dried meat croquette or a calulu pie, that we can create a sustainable fusion cuisine using our local ingredients.

What role can signature cuisine, like the one developed at KURAH, play in promoting Angolan products and stimulating local production?
We have a huge responsibility as the country's first signature restaurant; valuing local products is our priority. Fortunately, with the Executive's excellent decision to boost tourism by allowing more nationalities to enter without requiring a visa, we have been welcoming customers from various regions. Serving a simple caldo verde with gimboa and national chorizo ​​as a starter, or a mille-feuille (a French-inspired recipe) topped with cream of guacamole, compels us to encourage and incorporate local products into all the recipes we offer at the restaurant. This allows us to combine innovative flavor combinations and presentations that utilize our traditional cuisine with modern techniques.

In your opinion, what are the main challenges Angola still faces in making its food system more sustainable and integrated with the country's economic and cultural reality?
We have a rich diet, fertile, irrigated lands capable of producing the best ingredients. For many years, communities have fed their families with cornmeal, tomatoes, and herbs. It's up to all of us to transform and elevate our national products, giving dried fish the same dignity as cod, for example. All are valuable for a more sustainable, integrated system. We also need to be aware that this is a gradual process that involves improving harvests, improving storage conditions, promoting and organizing small producers, making proper use of distribution networks, and presenting products that meet international consumption standards. Otherwise, how can a tourist take home a kilo of cornmeal if the packaging doesn't contain the product's ingredients, as is the case with a packet of cornstarch?
We must be proud to value local products that have already been discovered and give them the visibility they deserve.