Portrait of Mónica Gomes
i. Biography
Since 2021, Mónica Gomes has led the kitchen at Olaias in Figueira da Foz, where the restaurant’s identity is built on a narrow, legible set of choices: rice, heat, and patience. The work reads as regional rather than expansive, with Carolino rice from the Mondego region carrying the menu’s structure and giving the cooking its steady pulse. In 2024 and 2025, Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand recognition confirmed what the kitchen had already made clear through repetition and restraint.
The Climb
Mónica Gomes has been Chef de Cozinha (Head Chef) of Olaias since 2021. The role fits a style of work that is direct, deliberate, and attentive to detail. Instead of building presence through spectacle, she has made authorship visible through consistency, allowing the restaurant’s identity to emerge from a cuisine that knows exactly what it is trying to do.
Today
Since 2021, Gomes has run the kitchen at the Figueira da Foz restaurant with a focused brief: deepen a single specialty rather than widen the frame. Carolino rice from the Mondego region is the anchor, turning a modest ingredient list into a clear signature. The result is a menu that does not try to cover every register at once, but sharpens its language around one point of view. Technique carries the same weight as ingredient. Clay-oven cooking gives the food a grounded character; patient preparation sets the pace; and strong sauces bring the dishes into balance around the grain. Those elements make for a cuisine that is practical, regional, and exact. The work does not need a larger story when time, fire, and discipline already define the plate. That consistency has shaped her recognition. Born in Tábua and working from a single dated leadership role, Gomes has built her reputation through clarity rather than embellishment. The cooking states its ingredients plainly, relies on method, and lets patience do part of the work.
Career - Chef de Cozinha (Head Chef) — Olaias, Figueira da Foz (2021–present)
Recognition
Mónica's honors include Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand (2024) and Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand (2025).
FAQ What is Mónica Gomes's current role? As of 2026, Mónica Gomes is Head Chef. What recognition has Mónica Gomes received? Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand (2024).
