The confessions of the world’s best chefs, by Nelson Marques

Six years ago, when I thought about publishing the first Chefs Sem Reservas book, based on the interviews I had published in the Expresso newspaper with some of the best chefs in Portugal and the world, I was very far from imagining that I would now be launching the third volume of this collection. In fact, this is the story of a book – and a collection – that shouldn’t exist. From the outset, the idea wasn’t greeted with much enthusiasm: a friend who was preparing to manage me advised me to take on another project; a publisher assured me that “interview books don’t sell”; and another publisher admitted that the book “would look great” in her portfolio, but wouldn’t “sell much”. I could have given up, but I always felt that the obstacles along the way were great fuel for my will to succeed. The greater the challenge, the greater the reward.

One of the biggest challenges of this project is that it became clear early on that it wasn’t going to be cheap: I wanted, alongside the extraordinary stories, for the book to have a strong visual identity, both in terms of photography and design, as well as the paper used for printing, which naturally increased production costs, well above what the national publishing reality is. I believed it would be worth making this investment so that the book would make an impact on the reader even before they started reading it, and it is with indescribable pride that I feel we have fulfilled this vision.

As the third volume of this collection arrives in bookshops, it’s fair to recognise that it was only possible to get here because there was a group of partners – joined by Costa Verde in this “Terceiro Prato” – and a publisher (Clube do Autor) who believed in this project and many readers who have cherished it since the first volume. They are the true measure of this collection’s success and it was very special to see so many people – more than 150 – at the Sauvage CCB, in Lisbon, on last17th, greeting this new volume.

In Chefs Sem Reservas: Terceiro Prato, readers will find a conversational menu with 15 extraordinary chefs, eight Portuguese and seven international, including some of the biggest names in haute cuisine, such as Ferran Adriá, Dabiz Muñoz, Virgilio Martínez, Mauro Colagreco, Rasmus Munk and Ana Ros. They introduce themselves openly, without reservations, thus revealing their life journeys. I like to believe that these inspiring testimonies can be of interest not only to those who are interested in gastronomy, but also to all those who wish to succeed in any area of their lives.

Happy reading!

Nelson Marques (b. 1979) was a journalist for more than two decades, having worked in the newsrooms of Expresso, where he was coordinator of the magazine, and Público. He collaborated with SIC, RTP and numerous national media, and wrote for various international publications, such as The Guardian (UK), El Mundo (Spain), The Jerusalem Post (Israel) and Época (Brazil).

He published hundreds of reports, uncovered a sexual harassment scandal involving former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, covered the elections that brought Bolsonaro to power in Brazil and interviewed some of the most important personalities on the planet, from Al Gore to Anthony Bourdain, including Philippe Starck, Renzo Piano, Christian Louboutin, David LaChapelle, Katy Perry, Ronaldinho Gaúcho and many others, including winners of Nobel Prizes, Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Pulitzers.
His work has been honoured by the Portuguese Press Club, the Portuguese League Against Cancer, the European Best Cancer Reporter Award, the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities and the Gourmand Awards.

He is the author of the books Filhos da Quimio (2018), Chefs Sem Reservas (2019), Os Homens Também Choram (2021), Chefs Sem Reservas: Segundo Prato (2022), O Sucesso Está Nos Detalhes (2023) and Chefs Sem Reservas: Terceiro Prato. He also wrote Futuro, one of the volumes in the book marking Corticeira Amorim’s 150th anniversary.

He believes, perhaps naively, that it is books that will save the world from the barbarians.

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