Rui Martins is responsible for the gastronomic direction of the O Paparico restaurants and the Brasão breweries. He is also the chef at Culto ao Bacalhau in Porto. Chef of the Year award in 2016. His cuisine has a strong emotional base that is closely related to his childhood memories.

Luke Nguyen is a chef, cookbook author, teacher and, at the age of 23, opened the Red Lantern, the most-awarded Vietnamese restaurant in the world. He runs Vietnam House in Saigon, recognised by the 2023 Michelin Guide as the best service in Vietnam. He is also the presenter of TV cooking programmes such as Masterchef Vietnam and Top Chef Vietnam, and a regular guest judge on Masterchef Australia.

With a Minho-born mother and a French father, Aurora Goy grew up between France, her home country, and Minho, where she spent her holidays. She became a chef in Paris and trained in both France and Portugal under prominent chefs such as Alain Ducasse, Guy Savoy, or José Avillez. At Apego restaurant in Porto, she works with local products to create a cuisine of affection with French techniques.

Lucía Freitas was born in 1982 in St. James of Compostela (Galicia, Spain). At the age of 19, she began her studies at the Advanced School of Culinary Arts and Hotel Management of Artxanda (Bilbao). She passed through Mugaritz, where she discovered the philosophy and values surrounding local products, and through Tápias, where she defined her economic and strategic vision of gastronomy. In 2009, she opened A Tafona in St. James of Compostela, which has already earned a Michelin Star.

With a professional career spanning eight years, Rita Magro started out in this field with a course in Kitchen Management and Production at the Escola de Hotelaria e Turismo de Coimbra. From an early age she realised her taste for haute cuisine, where excellence and perfectionism are paramount. His professional experience includes stints at renowned venues such as Vila Vita Parc, Salpoente, Antiqvvm and Blind, where he is currently head chef alongside experienced chef Vítor Matos. In 2024, she was awarded the title of ‘Young Chef’ by the MICHELIN Guide.

With a cuisine that combines the best culinary traditions of Venezuela and Peru, Martinez has earned a prominent place on the Latin American gastronomic scene. He studied at La Casserole du Chef and the Centro de Estudios Gastronómicos Amecameca in his native Venezuela and worked in important restaurants such as Martín Berasategui and Diverxo, owned by Dabiz Muñoz. He arrived in Lima to work with Virgilio Martínez at Central, becoming the restaurant’s chef. Today he runs Mérito, one of the best restaurants in Lima.

One of the most renowned chefs of the new Portuguese cuisine, Vasco Coelho Santos runs the Euskalduna Group, which includes restaurants in Porto and the North of Portugal. He began his career at Olivier Avenida and then at Tavares Rico, with José Avillez, before heading to Spain and working in some of the best restaurants in the world: Mugaritz, Arzak and the legendary el Bulli. In 2016, he opened Euskalduna Studio, in Bonfim, with which he won his first Michelin Star in 2022. The chef also runs Semea, dedicated to Portuguese products, Seixo, in the Douro, and Kaigi, which combines Japanese and Portuguese cuisine. He also owns the Peixaria by Euskalduna and Padaria Ogi by Euskalduna.

Award-winning Chef Fatmata Binta is the founder of the Fulani Kitchen Foundation and executive chef of Dine on a Mat. The daughter of first-generation Fulanis of Guinean descent, she was born and raised in Freetown, Sierra Leone. She is a modern nomadic chef and an ambassador for Fulani cuisine. Like her ancestors, Chef Binta has travelled to many countries to explore different culinary techniques, ingredients and ways of life. At Fulani Kitchen, she combines her nomadic Fulani roots and love of rural life and nature with her classical training. The result is modern dishes, presented with the simplicity and authenticity of Fulani culture.

Graduated from the first edition of the Gastronomy course at Estácio de Sá University, in Rio de Janeiro, Rafaela Louzada gained experience in renowned restaurants, including Le Chalet de la Forêt (2 Michelin stars) in Brussels and The Yeatman (2 Michelin stars) in Vila Nova de Gaia. She has also had notable international experiences in London and in the kitchens of Royal Caribbean. In 2020, now in Portugal, she opened the restaurant GRUTA in Porto, where she earned the Bib Gourmand award from the Michelin Guide in 2023 and 2024. Currently, she is part of the Time Out Market with her own culinary space, alongside distinguished Portuguese chefs.

Jo Barrett is a renowned Australian chef, named Chef of the Year 2024 by The Age GoodFood Guide and recognized as a pioneering cook by the World’s 50 Next (50 Best). Jo worked as Executive Chef at the award-winning Oakridge Winery restaurant in Victoria and represented Australia at the World Pastry Championship. She is the author of the book Sustain and recently launched the Wildpie project, creating artisanal pies using Australian wild game and invasive species, promoting sustainable food practices. Her first restaurant, Little Picket, quickly gained prominence on the Great Ocean Road. Beyond the kitchen, Jo is deeply involved in activities like hunting, diving, archery, and deep-sea fishing, which fuel her commitment to sustainable cuisine.