Tássia Magalhães talks about redefining leadership in kitchens

Brazilian chef Tássia Magalhães is the reigning best female chef in Latin America, picking up the accolade during the 2025 edition of Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants award, which was launched in 2013 under the 50 Best brand from publisher William Reed. At the same time her establishment Nelita — known for its Italian influences and all-women kitchen — found itself at No. 12 on the list of top eateries in Latin America. Her time at the pinnacle of cooking follows a period of evolution during which Magalhães says she has embraced femininity and ignored the toxic traits so famously associated with high-level restaurants. She spoke to Reuters in São Paulo’s Pinheiros neighbourhood, about food and cooking with a mix of delicacy and power.

Last year had lots of high points. What was that like for you?

The award was the icing on the cake. I wouldn’t say it was recognition for Tássia individually, but for women’s kitchens. When I opened Nelita in 2021 and decided to work with an all-women kitchen, it was very challenging. In fact, it’s still very challenging because even though today we have a slightly larger number of women in kitchens, there are still very few women in leadership positions in professional kitchens. We’ve now been running Nelita for five years (and) I think we started to reap the fruits that were planted at the beginning of the restaurant.

What is the biggest difference about working in all-female kitchens?

There is a lot of trust, and there is a lot of listening. It’s a more sensitive kitchen because women have this sensitivity to feel things, which I believe comes from the fact that women are maternal. I also just have women in (wine bar) Lita and in my bakery Mag in (Sao Paulo neighbourhood) Itaim Bibi.

In this organizational aspect, women work collectively; they help each other. With this collective nature, you arrive at strength. The kitchen in Nelita is delicate and powerful.

You’ve worked in kitchens with men before. How was that transition?

This year marks 18 years that I’ve worked in professional kitchens. Back then, I felt that I needed to equal myself to men in order to earn their respect. I needed to be rougher. I couldn’t appear very feminine, so I avoided any kind of accessories or dressing like a girl. I had a more masculine way of being in order to get that respect. I was more coarse, even more aggressive. I needed to behave that way in order to be heard in a kitchen that was like that. When I started working on the Nelita project, I began to realize that things needed to be different. I understood that I didn’t need to lose my femininity to have a kitchen, to have a restaurant, and to be a chef in a kitchen where people could respect me and look at me. So I can wear makeup, I can dress well, I can arrive at a gastronomy event wearing a dress where I feel beautiful and that doesn’t diminish Tássia as a cook.

What are the influences behind the food you cook at Nelita?

My family is entirely Portuguese, but my grandparents lived in São Paulo, which has a lot of influence from Italian immigration. My first internship was in an Italian restaurant, and it was love at first sight. I realized that everything I ate in the countryside was influenced by Italian immigration. Since my passion has always been tied to this Italian-immigration cuisine in São Paulo, I decided to open Nelita exactly with that, telling the story of the influence Italians have here on Paulistas and Brazilians. So I bring a cuisine with Italian influence, but using local products from the Vale do Paraíba, which is the region I’m from.

Reuters