Rui Paula
A self-taught chef with a strong family bias and emotional side to his cuisine
Rui Paula
DOP
Portugal
Paula’s childhood memories of tastes, smells and texture form the fundamentals of and primary inspiration for his cuisine today.
AUTODIDACT RUI PAULA was born in Porto in 1967 and developed an early love for cooking, thanks to his maternal grandmother, who would prepare traditional recipes with local products when he visited her at the family home in Alijó, Douro. Paula has a strong memory of tastes, smells and texture, and these are his lexicon for creating his modern take on traditional regional cuisine, in the restaurants that he runs today.
In 2007, he opened DOC restaurant in partnership with his brother Pedro. An essential meeting point for those who live or travel in the Douro region, it is situated on the Folgosa pier, alongside the Douro River, between Régua and Pinhão.
In the first quarter of 2010, he went on to open DOP restaurant in the Palace of Arts, in Porto’s historic quarter. This is also run in collaboration with his family.
Paula adheres to eight fundamentals in his cuisine. Alongside memory being the main source of his inspiration, he strongly believes that gastronomy should have an emotional root and a link to the cultural context. Thirdly and fourthly, he insists upon the sourcing of and preserving of the flavour of quality ingredients, giving preference to environmentally friendly local products, harvested at the right time, respecting the seasons. He advocates healthy cooking, and believes that style and techniques must be at the service of emotion. Each dish must summon all of the senses and, last but not least, customer satisfaction and good service is his main objective.
