The restaurant located in Curitiba, Brazil, is the creation of chef Manu Buffara / Manu has earned a reputation in the innovative Brazilian gastronomic scene for its originality, technique and sophistication

Today, Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants announces its third special award of the season: the Miele One To Watch Award, which recognises a restaurant with strong potential to become part of the list of Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants in coming years. Manu becomes the sixth One To Watch in a privileged group of restaurants in the region since the launch of Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, in 2013.

Chef-owner Manoella ‘Manu’ Buffara will accept the Miele One To Watch Award for Manu during the sixth annual Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony on Tuesday 30th October at the Ágora events space in Bogotá, Colombia. Today’s announcement follows two other pre-announced awards leading into the revelation of the list: The Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award, which was given to joint winners Maria Elena Lugo Zermeño and Gerardo Vázquez Lugo of Nicos in Mexico City, and the elit® Vodka Latin America’s Best Female Chef Award, which went to Pía León of Central and Kjolle in Lima.

William Drew, Group Editor of Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants, said: “It is an honour to welcome Manu into the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants family as we know that the restaurant has built a reputation as one of Brazil’s most promising dining destinations. It is particularly exciting to celebrate a restaurant in Curitiba, away from the main gastronomic hubs of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and to give recognition to the culinary riches of the region.”

Chef Buffara is the daughter of a farmer and as such, inherited her love of local produce and the correct and careful handling of ingredients, which have become an essential part of

Manu’s philosophy. The menu is carefully curated from ingredients from the south of Brazil and features signature dishes including the corn macaron, and an ‘oyster’ dish of native strawberries and lime raspadinha.

Manu said "Winning the Miele One To Watch Award for Manu is an honour not just for me but also for my team, my city, my state and my country. It is important for me to show my work and the research we do around the state of Paraná in Brazil. This award will also help me to use my voice to benefit the entire community behind the products we use at Manu. Cooking has the power to transform people and cities.”

Buffara took influence for Manu from several stages at Noma in Copenhagen, where she learned about foraging for fresh ingredients. She also worked at Alinea in Chicago and spent time in Italy and Alaska. In Curitiba, she is involved in an urban gardens project and a local beehives initiative, and is a keen advocate for waste reduction.

“We at Miele stand not only for high quality and fascinating innovation but also for first-class cuisine and stylish pleasure”, said Dr. Axel Kniehl, Executive Director Marketing and Sales for Miele. “Manu’s commitment to better her community, passion for excellent local food and love of cooking which she acquired early on in life, deeply impresses and inspires us. So we are very happy to congratulate Manu and the entire team on the restaurant winning this award.”

Previous recipients of the One To Watch Award include: Remanso do Bosque in Belém, Brazil, in 2013; Ambrosía in Santiago, Chile, in 2014; I Latina in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2015; Alcalde in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2016; and chef Felipe Bronze’s restaurant Oro, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2017.

About the Miele One To Watch Award

The Miele One To Watch Award is the ultimate recognition of up-and-coming restaurants in the region by Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants and is the evidence of the organisation’s commitment to future talent and to the region’s gastronomy. 

The Miele One To Watch Award celebrates a restaurant that is likely to enter the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list in future years. The winner is chosen by the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants organisation from a list of restaurants outside the list that have received votes in the most recent round of voting. None of the sponsors has any influence over the voting process.

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Company profile: Miele is the world's leading manufacturer of premium domestic appliances including cooking, baking and steam-cooking appliances, refrigeration products, coffee makers, dishwashers and laundry and floor care products. This line-up is augmented by dishwashers, washer-extractors and tumble dryers for commercial use as well as washer-disinfectors and sterilisers for use in medical and laboratory applications (Professional Business Unit). The Miele company, founded in 1899, has eight production plants in Germany as well as one plant each in Austria, the Czech Republic, China and Romania. These are joined by the two plants belonging to Miele's Italian medical technology subsidiary Steelco. 2017/18 turnover amounted to approx. EUR 4.1 bn, with sales outside Germany accounting for 70%. Miele is represented with its own sales subsidiaries and via importers in almost 100 countries. Throughout the world, the family-run enterprise, now in its fourth generation, employs a workforce of around 20,100, whereof 11,200 are employed in Germany. The company headquarters are located in Gütersloh/Westphalia, Germany.