Chef
Alex Atala
Chef & Owner, D.O.M.
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- São Paulo, Brazil
- Venue
- D.O.M. · Restaurant
Known for
- Elevating Brazilian Amazonian ingredients in fine dining
- Signature dishes like aligot with Brazilian cheese and ants on pineapple
i. Biography
The Climb
European hotel-school training and high-level restaurant discipline formed the technical base: Alex Atala trained at École Hôtelière de Namur, then worked at Jean-Pierre Bruneau’s three-Michelin-starred eponymous restaurant in France before returning to work in Several restaurants in São Paulo (from 1994). The São Paulo period placed that training back into a Brazilian service context, while the later public work as a television host at GNT in Brazil widened the audience beyond dining-room covers. The operating structure now spans restaurants and institutional work: founder/operator of Dalva e Dito, founder/operator of Açougue Central, and co-founder of Atá Institute (since 2013).
Today
The current public center of the work is D.O.M. The restaurant is the principal reference point for the trade record, beginning with its 1999 founding and continuing through the recognition attached to it. Adjacent projects extend the same professional field without replacing that center. Dalva e Dito in São Paulo places Atala as founder, while Atá Institute, co-founded in 2013, sits outside the standard restaurant list but remains part of the same working arc.
Signature
The signature register includes ant on a piece of pineapple and Tapioca Biscuit and Botarga. Both names matter as markers of the kitchen’s public vocabulary: concise, ingredient-forward, and tied to the identity through which Alex Atala’s work is commonly recognized.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Alex
What is Alex Atala's current role?
Alex Atala is Chef of D.O.M.
Where did Alex Atala train or study?
Alex Atala trained at École Hôtelière de Namur.
What recognition has Alex Atala received?
Two Michelin stars for D.O.M. (2015).
