Born in a small village in Chaves in 1990, Vítor Adão’s earliest gastronomic memories are of the “tainadas” around crowded tables at the end of days of work on the land, which lasted well into the night, with glasses always full and plates appearing on the table in houses with inevitably open doors. Food – which neighbors and family grew, harvested and then ate together – was always synonymous with sharing. It was with his elders that he saw the first sausages being made, that he heard prayers said over the dough of the traditional “Bola de Chaves”, that he learned to respect the product. From the pots he burned and hid under his bed, he went to the José Ribeirinho Machado cooking school in Vilarandelo at the age of 14. From there, he joined the Hotel and Tourism School in Mirandela, where he would later teach. He spent some time in the kitchens of DOC and DOP, interned at Ocean and Vila Joya, and worked at 45 Park Lane, in London, run by chef Wolfgang Puck. Between 2016 and 2018, he was executive chef of the 100 Maneiras group. Later, he became a consultant at Quinta do Arneiro and, in 2019, opened the popular pop-up Izakaya Tokkuri, in Lisbon’s Bairro Alto, which has since closed, and became curator of the Tabernas do Alto Tâmega network that same year. In August 2019, he opened his first restaurant under his own name: PLANO, featured in the Michelin Guide since 2022, winner of the Boa Cama Boa Mesa 2020 “Revelation Restaurant” award, a member of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs and frequently mentioned in the national and international press as one of the best restaurants in the city. His cuisine highlights respect for tradition, the land, the products and the origins, combined with a contemporary and very personal approach. The same philosophy he brought to the small screen when, in 2023, he took on the role of host of the show “Raízes”, aired on Canal Casa e Cozinha, with the aim of showcasing the gastronomic (and other) traditions hidden throughout the country. A remarkable career which, in 2024, earned him the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award at the 8th AHRESP Awards, as well as the Revelation Cook award at the Paixão Pelo Vinho 2024 awards.