Noélia Jerónimo

Chef at Noélia e Jerónimo (Cabanas de Tavira, Portugal)

Without any Michelin stars, this Portuguese chef is considered one of the country's best. Many of the country's best chefs arrive at her Noélia e Jerónimo restaurant.

At her eatery in Cabanas de Tavira, 25 kilometres from the Spanish border in Portugal's Algarve, diners can secure a table through sheer luck or by booking ahead. Practically all major Portuguese chefs have been here, awed by the mastery of this force from the Algarve, held by many as the genuine ambassador of Portugal's Mediterranean gastronomy.

Noélia Jerónimo is self-taught, she has no Michelin stars, she is an authentic, passionate chef, she also now teaches at the Time Out Academy and she is the visible head of Portugal's Festival of Gastronomy and Wines. Her beginnings go back to when she married the pastrymaker's son, and bought over the pizzeria next to the cake shop. From pizza she moved on to experiment and turn the restaurant around to transform it into what it is today, a true institution.

She has won the Merit award in the “Gastronomy” category from the European/African Businesswomen's Association.

Her restaurant Noélia e Jerónimo won the "Boa Cama Boa Mesa" guide's Silver Fork award in 2018. The secret, the chef says, "lies in simple things, in using seasonal produce and fresh ingredients".