Andre Boccato

Born in São Paulo in an Italian family, André Boccato (53) started out as a photographer and journalist. After a long career of almost 15 years working in these fields, he sensibly changed his tastes and dreams. Nowadays he is in charge of a private award-winner publishing house, Boccato Editores.

That is the place where he talks, writes, photographs and works, surrounded by a delicious subject: food. As a cuisine lover and member of the Federazione Italiana Cuochi – Delegazione Brasile, he has published more than 40 books on the topic, winning world prizes such as the best cookbook of the world in the category ¨creativity¨ by the Gourmand Awards Cookbook. He has also participated in shows such as the Fashion Room in Milan, and the Gulffood Fair in Dubai.

Appetites, ideas and ambitions make André Boccato; unquiet, demanding even in his dreams, he daydreams with infinite possibilities to come true. That is how his love and enthusiasm for cuisine built up, maturing his technical skills, experience in putting up a menu, testing out thousands of recipes, heading professional cuisine teams, and carrying out consulting activities in the gastronomy area. He has even conceived his own innovative pasta and frozen food brand: Boccatelli.

For this, he opened up a sophisticated deli, where he placed "Boccateli"'s central kitchen, specialized in modern pastaciutta, that is, homemade pastas and sauces and a brand new line of frozen dishes. All products have "Boccatelli" brand. His light and lean cuisine line already has an eye on the external market and is ready to supply markets on the other side of the world, such as Japan.

André Boccato is, most of all, a man of action. He is always involved in new challenges. He is also concerned with his own shape and so he ran the New York marathons and, on his way back home, he wrote a Marathon Guide (Guia da Maratona), always emphasizing new light and diet products.

When he opened up Cozinha Experimental Boccato (Boccato Experimental Cuisine), in the publishing house premises, aiming to test out new tastes, his surrendering to the pleasures of the slow food earned him contracts with large enterprises in the food and supply industries such as Pão de Açúcar, Walita, Tetrapk, among others. Boccato Experimental Cuisine is based on tests and production of recipes to be published in the specialized gastronomy market (the volume "Easy Cook with Great Brands" is in its tenth edition).

For Pão de Açúcar Corporation, Boccato now commands and supervises the new Culinary Center of Pão de Açúcar’s own brand, developing recipes, testing new products and providing classes and training about cuisine and products with Pão de Açúcar brand.

Graphic and culinary productions

One of the finest Boccato’s work is the art book and gastronomy dictionary "Pimentas e suas Receitas" (Peppers and Their Recipes), a research marinated in the sauce that stirred up History. Its author, Nelusko Linguanotto, also signed the previous Boccato's publication "Ervas & Especiarias" (Herbs and Spices), another gastronomy dictionary, finely bound with perfect photos, teaching from A to Z all the magic that herbs and spices have done in kitchens throughout the world.

another project that can be mentioned here is the book "Chefs do Coração" (Chefs of the Heart), which gathered up national gastronomy stars, that is, chefs from the most important restaurants in Brazil, who created special recipes, addressed to prevent heart diseases.

André Boccato is always concerned with balancing the pleasures coming from the kitchen and those of health and good shape, so in 2004 he put out a book dedicated to yogurt which proposes a differentiated eating and weight-loss program based on this product, with complete recipes and menus: "Dieta Light com Iogurte" (Light Diet with Yogurt).

In 2005, he edited the wonderful book "O Pão da Paz" (The Bread of Peace), by Paulo Braga, with bread recipes from all the United Nation member states. Besides its highly interesting content, the book shows wonderful photos that add even more value to the work.

In 2006, the "Dicionário de Termos Gastronômicos" (Dictionary of Gastronomy Terms),by actress, oenologist and gourmet Helen Helena, was translated into Portuguese, offering practically all possible terms in French concerning gastronomy. This is an essential book and any gastronomy library.

In 2007, the book "Receitas Saborosas com Carne" (Tasty Recipes with Meat) has just come out, bringing delicious recipes developed by the chef for Bertin cold store, the largest meat exporter in Brazil, presented by him in various national and international festivals, as those carried out in France in 2005 and in Germany in 2006 (click here to know more).

To be published, the next books that bring delicious surprises. Want a bite?

Examples: an exclusive and intelligent tour around Sao Paulo’s finest restaurants, a gastronomy French-Portuguese dictionary, revealing all terms concerning the most famous cuisine in the world, the French cuisine, with some memorable recipes; and other publications in the series "Coleção Biblioteca Culinária" (Cuisine Library Collection).