Armed with a certificate in food service management from Cornell School of Hotel Administration, Chef Paiva brings more than 10 years of culinary experience to Grill 79, having previously worked in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
He began his career at five-star hotels in his home country of Portugal, picking up hotel-opening experience along the way. His experience also includes two-and-half years working in an award-winning, Michelin-starred restaurant in Ireland, where he was part of a team that hosted Queen Elizabeth II at a gala dinner in Dublin in 2011.
He later moved to the United Arab Emirates to lead culinary teams at award-winning restaurants before joining Shangri-La Hotel, Doha, as chef de cuisine of Yabby. The restaurant offers Doha’s largest live seafood selection, along with a wine room and a teppanyaki counter. Under Chef Paiva’s leadership, the restaurant was named as the “Best Friday Brunch” in Doha at the FACT Dining Awards Doha 2016.
Chef Paiva believes in respecting the value of all ingredients and their origins in his kitchen.
“When you respect every vegetable and meat that goes into your kitchen, even something as underrated as a carrot, only then can you call yourself a true cook. My cuisine is ingredient and product driven, which means that I value the quality of every vegetable that I use. I always strive to maximise every part of the products I use in my cooking,” the chef said.
He also appreciates the pride and hard work that farmers, fishermen and ranchers put into delivering products with quality.
Chef Paiva will be responsible for the overall food quality standards and kitchen operations, as well as conceptualizing and executing exciting promotions at Grill 79 in the future.