Chef Tiago Bonito – I owe what I am today as a chef [...] to the love I have for what I do.

At Palacete Severo, where history, art and hospitality converge, gastronomy plays a central role in shaping the experience of this hotel. Chef Tiago Bonito, who stands at the helm of Bistrô Severo and Éon, recently awarded a Michelin star, spoke to Villas&Golfe about the cuisine he crafts from memories, roots and Portuguese produce, interpreting them with the sophistication of contemporary haute cuisine. Between the urban informality of Bistrô Severo and the journey of the senses offered by Éon, Palacete Severo has established itself as a gastronomic destination where luxury finds expression in authenticity, time and sensory delight at the table.

Your career has seen you work in a wide variety of kitchens and on all kinds of projects. What moments or decisions would you say were key in making you the chef you are today?
I owe what I am today as a chef to a healthy dose of ambition, but above all else, to the love I have for what I do. I also owe my maturity today to having been able to learn from my mistakes. 

How would you define your culinary identity at this stage of your career?
My style of cooking is signature cuisine, fine dining, with a focus on Portuguese produce. There is a strong connection to my memories and roots, and I have found inspiration in the people I have met over time and who have worked with me. As chefs, we are also messengers.

Both Bistrô Severo and Éon were established in a space steeped in history. How do the architecture, heritage and atmosphere of the place influence your cuisine?
They influence it in many ways. We are a hotel-gallery where we prioritise hospitality, and right from the start, I identified with that hospitality. On the other hand, this preserving of memories and the past of Palacete Severo goes hand in hand with what I also strive for in my cuisine: a connection to roots and tradition. And if I want to tell a story, it makes absolute sense for me to be part of a project such as this. Éon, for example, is a timeless experience, where memories are strongly evoked through flavours.

What sets each of these spaces apart – Bistrô Severo and Éon?
They are restaurants with very different personalities. Bistrô is a restaurant that appeals to more urban tastes, more informal, a restaurant that operates à la carte, with very interesting dishes. Éon, on the other hand, is a gastronomic experience. It has two menus, one with nine moments and the other with fourteen. Our aim, with these moments, is to take customers on a journey from the north to the south of Portugal. What we want to convey in both restaurants is a ‘home-like’ and convivial atmosphere, a family environment. 

And what are the stand-out dishes in each restaurant?
All the dishes have different meanings. At Bistrô, for example, we have milk-fed lamb shoulder, “confit” slow-cooked for 24 hours, with oven-baked rice and sautéed turnip greens, which stands out for its comforting qualities, particularly as it is a dish from the northern part of the country. The “Bulhão Pato” style clams also go down very well, featuring a national product of ours, from the Algarve, and which is especially enjoyable when you mop up the sauce with toasted bread, or “miritas”, as we call them here in the north. We are close to the coast and every day we have a fish of the day. As for Éon, the dishes are moments. We have a dish with which we pay homage to the shellfish restaurants of Matosinhos, presented in a series of snacks, such as a hot, crispy crab ball, with crab coral inside and topped with the crab meat, we have a skewer of scarlet shrimp from the Algarve, we have goose barnacles... We have hake, which is also very representative of the north of Portugal, which we serve here smoked with cured egg yolk and parsley root purée. We also have a dessert called “Memórias de Infância” (Childhood Memories), which basically has everything we used to eat when we were little at the fair – chocolate, salted caramel, popcorn ice cream, candy floss with cinnamon and a small deep-fried “fartura” (fried dough).

«What we want to convey in both restaurants is a ‘home-like’ and convivial atmosphere, a family environment.»

Éon, which was recently awarded a Michelin star, strives to provide an all-encompassing experience of the senses. In your opinion, where does the dining experience at a restaurant of this calibre begin and end?
It begins with hospitality, attentive service and discretion. We have to know how to read the guest. What sets us apart from a normal restaurant is that we owe it to our guests to exceed their expectations. When guests come to a restaurant like this, they already have very high expectations. We have to give our very best to ensure that no mistakes are made. We want guests to leave here thinking about a dish, a wine, the space...

Cooking with a focus on luxury requires a delicate balance between sophistication and authenticity. How do you interpret the concept of luxury dining?
I think less is more. Above all, we have to be true to ourselves. This comes across to the guest, and service is very important nowadays. You have to be very tactful and think of each guest as a unique individual.

A relationship with the product is central to haute cuisine. What role do seasonality, provenance and local products play in the menu at Éon and Bistrô?
They are very important. Not all of our products are national because we use truffles and caviar. But when it comes to fish, meat, vegetables... everything is national. We always try to work with small producers. The price might be a little higher, but the quality is different. This is a social responsibility, but also a necessity for quality. The product makes the difference. If the product is good, the chef has only one obligation: to respect it, enhance its value, and not spoil it. Sometimes the hardest thing is refraining from inventing, letting the product speak for itself.

«What sets us apart from a normal restaurant is that we owe it to our guests to exceed their expectations.»

In a highly demanding environment, such as haute cuisine, how do you manage the time you dedicate to yourself? Where do you find inspiration and where do you stop to take a breath?
When you work in haute cuisine, you are a little obsessed, truth be told. Haute cuisine is competitive, in a healthy way, because we always have to give our best to the guest. This requires a great deal of effort from us and our teams. I find it difficult to switch off, even on my days off, but I enjoy going hunting and fishing. I go hunting less now because it takes more time.

For you, what is a true luxury?
These days, it’s time. I’m just about to turn 40 and my dream was, upon reaching that age, to devote myself to what I love – which is cooking – working for my friends, having a relaxed life, being able to go fishing, have a little boat... I don’t think that’s going to happen. But what I really miss nowadays is time to be with the people I love the most, to be able to create more... I remember my mother spending time preparing roasts the day before, baking cakes on Saturday mornings so we could have cake to eat in the afternoon and on Sunday, and now that hardly ever happens. People go to the supermarket and fill their trolleys with everything other than what is good for them and do everything other than what is really conducive to well-being. Myself included; I live in a hurry. Nowadays, people value time more than their salary.

Looking towards the future, what ambitions or dreams still keep you going – and what new avenues would you like to explore as a chef?
That’s a difficult question. I always have lots of dreams. I already have my own restaurant – Indiferente – not in my name but it’s mine, so part of the dream has come true. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll have a restaurant with my name and my signature on it.

«If the product is good, the chef has only one obligation: to respect it, enhance its value, and not spoil it.»

 

Text: Carla Martins 
Photos: Ana Nogueira