A prominent disciple of chefs such as Quique Dacosta and Martín Berasategui, Brazilian Rafael Cagali has earned two Michelin stars within the space of four years for his Da Terra restaurant in London's city centre. He started out in cuisine in the City, where he discovered his vocation rather late by working at pizzerias during his time as a student of Economics wishing to improve his English. "I did that to get by, but I had the feeling that cookery could be a career", he recalls at Madrid Fusión Alimentos de España during his ‘Urban memory’ talk, while his head chef makes a duck raviolo. "I had to make up for lost time, because age catches up on you fast. After three years in London I went to Italy, where my grandparents lived. I worked with chef Stefano Baiocco there. Then I came to Spain and worked with Martín and Quique, and went back to London. I was only going for a few months, and I've been there for two decades now".

In the UK capital he worked in the kitchens of two more chefs, Simon Rogan and Heston Blumenthal, before opening his own place, where the price of the menu is around 200 euros, inspired by his South American and Italian past. For example, his recipes feature yucca or cachaça, to make ‘moqueca’ (fish stew) with "farofa" (grated mandioca or yucca). A genuine culinary pot-pourri.

The name of the restaurant indicates his identity. Da Terra refers to "the land and the planet", says Cagali, who also took charge of the decoration for the restaurant he opened in 2019. "We all make up one world with a range of influences, and I show my roots through the idea of an open kitchen, with the philosophy that the bosses are those who serve the food. I believe in the connection of the diner to the cooking".

Within such a short space of time the main recipes on the menu have evolved, he explains as he shows three versions of his ‘Humble chicken’, with variations of presentation and texture. "Inspiration also comes from the places I visited, and the bosses I worked for". The menu has ten recipes, such as rib cannelloni, a cake with cheese and "guaya" (a tropical fruit also known as "mamón"), and ‘upside-down raviolo’, which he showcooks.

The first task is to make the pasta, using an "arduous technique" with two types of pasta, light and dark, which become a single component when mixed together. The duck, meanwhile, has been matured in a refrigerator for two weeks - the breast is separated from the skin, which is used to make "crunchies", and the bones are used for the sauce. Buried in spices for two hours and roasted at 85 degrees for another two hours, the breast loses 30% of its moisture and its flavour is intense, Cagali claims. "We use all of the duck. The breast is cut like ham, and the rest of the flesh is shredded", adds Mark, his sous-chef. The fresh pasta only needs two minutes in boiling water, and the raviolo is served with an emulsion of lemon and beef butter. The white contrast on a large black plate forms part of the taste experience.