A história.

I left my hometown of Rio when I was 17 to go to college in Vermont. Eager to flee the nest and build my own, I never moved back. My visits dissipated, and eventually, all that was left was a second language I barely used and an occasional encounter with a Coxinha. 

In March 2022 my dad passed away in his new country of residence, France. In a story longer than the modern day has the attention span for, it was left for me to deliver his ashes, by hand, to his cemetery of choice in Rio de Janeiro. It had been 15 years since I had been home. What felt like a tall ask, turned out to be his greatest gift to me. 

On the heels of becoming a mother of two and going through the isolation of a global pandemic, being with people who knew my soul, in a city that held my story, brought me to my knees. The result was two visits to Rio, 3 months apart, that were dedicated equally to sorting bureaucracy as they were to reconnecting with family, friends, and my own identity.  

As I reconnected with my roots, I wanted to embrace Brazilian food in my American kitchen. I found myself drawn to the principles of Brazil's Dietary Guidelines: simple home-cooked meals, a balanced prato feito, and the everyday ritual of gathering around the table. Building my meals around rice, beans, vegetables, and protein transformed transformed my relationship with food and reminded me that wellness doesn't have to be complicated—it can begin with the foods and traditions we already know and love. The story of how I found my healthiest self at 40—by returning to the foods I grew up with—is explored in the Perfect Plate series.

The Rio Kitchen is a love letter to Rio and everything my home city teaches me about living well. Here you will find an aggregation of stories, nourishing Brazilian-inspired recipes, and lifestyle inspiration with a side of Bossa. Sejam Bem Vindos.