Janaina Torres Declared ‘World’s Top Female Chef’ For 2024

The UK-based ranking company which curates the list of World’s 50 Best Restaurants each year, has crowned Brazilian chef Janaina Torres as the top female chef of 2024. The official ceremony, which is set to take place in Las Vegas later in June this year, will honour Janaina for her contributions to the culinary world along with her entrepreneurial endeavours and charitable efforts.

The chef and sommelier who was born and raised in Sao Paulo, works the kitchens at Casa do Porco and Hot Pork, as well as owns the innovative ice cream bar called the Sorveteria do Centro.

Self-confessedly precise in her style of working, what makes the chef’s work stand out among her contemporaries is her commitment to making fine-dining experiences affordable for people. In addition to this, her humble beginnings in Sao Paulo also led her to work with the local government authorities to train school cooks – which helped in enhancing the nutritional profile of meals provided to over 1.8 million kids. Part of her social efforts in this space included Janaina working with cooks to eliminate processed foods off of school menus and replacing them with fresh, nourishing ingredients.

Along with her popular business ventures which she operates with her husband, chef Torres also owns the Bar da Dona Onça and a sandwich spot called Merenda da Cidade. The emphasis of her restaurant venture focusses on nose-to-tail cooking concepts, where the pig is considered to be the piece de resistance. Taking local culture into account and reflecting them off the menu at her restaurant has been one of her biggest achievements that shaped the culinary scene for the chef in Sao Paulo – giving Janaina the status of a pioneer chef.