What was your childhood like? “My family in Brazil had a supermarket and two pharmacies. When I was 11 years old I started working as a cashier in the supermarket. I helped my father, who did most of the cooking. He made fruit compotes, and comfort food like roasted and grilled meats, and stews.” How did you get into cooking? “When I was 17 years old I was interested in pursuing cooking, and the first culinary school in Brazil had just opened. But my mother was not sure the school would be good. So I studied business management and worked at the Bank of Brazil and our family business. “Then in 2006, I went to that culinary school and had an internship at a hotel. I woke up at 5am and worked until 4pm, then went to culinary school until midnight.” What was your first restaurant job? “At the end of 2007, I finished culinary school and in January I flew to Lasarte [a restaurant in Barcelona], Spain, to work with chef Martín Berasategui. It was hard work, 15 to 16 hours a day. I learned a lot in three months, not only Spanish, but also new cooking techniques. A TV scout was in Hong Kong and asked if I was interested in doing a cooking show like Hell’s Kitchen and I said no way! Rafael Gil, chef “Then I worked at Evo [also in Barcelona] with the late chef Santi Santamaria, who had a very traditional restaurant. He became known for his criticism of Ferran Adrià’s molecular cuisine at El Bulli. At Evo, I learned the basics and gained a better understanding of Spanish cuisine.” What was it like moving to Asia? “In 2012, I had an opportunity to open Catalunya in Singapore, but it was tough – I had culture shock. We only had three months to open the restaurant, and not knowing anyone, we had to find suppliers and staff. “I was in Singapore for nine months and then moved to Hong Kong in 2013 to open Catalunya here and I only had a month to do it. Catalunya raised the level of Spanish restaurants in Hong Kong. We went to one that had Iberico ham on the menu, but when we tried it, it was Serrano, which is not the same quality. “In 2015, The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong […] wanted to change Ozone into a kind of speakeasy and so we created Rafa’s Private Kitchen. It was my playground and I was given the freedom to try new things. That project opened a lot of doors for me. I was able to show my cuisine, which is mostly Mediterranean with some Asian elements.” How did you come to appear in The Final Table on Netflix? “A TV scout was in Hong Kong and asked if I was interested in doing a cooking show like Hell’s Kitchen and I said no way! I never planned to do TV. “A few weeks later they contacted me and explained the show was more about the chefs than the behind-the-scenes drama. They asked me who I wanted to partner with and it turned out [Mexican chef] Esdras Ochoa was about to open 11 Westside in Hong Kong. We decided to do the show together. ” What was it like? “In October 2017, I flew out to Los Angeles with 40 other chefs for the final selection. We had to do camera tests and psychological interviews, which took 10 days. I said to Esdras that we cannot be eliminated in the first episode and, thankfully, it was Mexican cuisine. The first episode we shot from 6am to 1am. We had to constantly redo our make-up. “When you’re competing, it’s 70 per cent your head and 30 per cent cooking. You need to control your emotions. Esdras and I are easy-going and fun. He does street food and I have worked in Michelin-starred restaurants, and I think that was a beautiful combination. “The toughest challenge for us was Japan. We had to prepare a kaiseki meal in one hour and I had never been to Japan. In the end we made it to the semi-final.” Did you like working in Jakarta? “I became executive chef at Keraton at The Plaza, in Jakarta, in 2018. Indonesians are protective of their local food industry. Unlike Hong Kong, where we can import the best seafood, meats and vegetables, in Indonesia I had to work with local products, which were not the best. That is why a lot of Indonesian food is seasoned with sambal or spices.” How has the pandemic changed your life? “The pandemic resulted in our hotel staff taking a lot of unpaid leave so I was home about half the time. Our three-year-old daughter didn’t have anything to do – no school, no playground – so we started cooking together, making cookies and focaccia. “I was very surprised she liked it. I posted pictures on Instagram and suddenly got 30,000 more followers. She enjoys adding ingredients and especially making bread. She is also trying more foods, like vegetables, cheese and truffles.”