Luciana was born in Brazil – more specifically in the city of Salvador in the state of Bahia. She grew up in a traditional South American family who share their passion for food and for life. Frequent gatherings of family and friends at home more often than not involve vast amounts of cooking and eating which is where Luciana’s interest in food first started. One of the highlights of the week is the famous “churrasco”, a full-on Brazilian BBQ which takes place every Saturday and lasts all day and night. A range of meats and different cuts are prepared for the guests and there is never a burger or sausage in sight!
After completing her degree in electrical engineering in 2004, Luciana travelled to London where she had planned to spend six months during her holidays. However, she soon fell in love with the city and decided to move there permanently. Unsurprisingly, Luciana started to miss the food from Brazil and soon began to cook some of her favourite dishes. Her career in catering started when she was asked to cook dinner for one of the boarding houses at Harrow School. This proved hugely successful and, as word of mouth spread, Luciana soon had a long list of clients who wanted her to cook for them too. In early 2005, Luciana decided to open her own catering company.
Following Luciana’s success with the boarding houses, she was asked to cater for several important events at Harrow School such as Prince Edward’s visit as well as the England Rugby Football Union training camp. Luciana was keen to take her cooking skills to the next level, so in 2013 she completed the Grand Diploma at Le Cordon Bleu in London. Soon after graduating, she took part in the popular BBC series Masterchef the Professionals. With a focus on showcasing the very best dishes that Brazil has to offer, Luciana proved to be a successful and popular contestant, reaching the semi-final stage. Luciana, as well as fellow Brazilians living in the UK, was proud to have introduced the British public to many exotic ingredients and cooking techniques from her homeland of Bahia.
Luciana recently won the title of Top chef Brasil 2020 winning one of the most challenges cooking competition on TV. She was able to show in Brazil her techniques and abilities of transforming humble ingredients into high gastronomy.
Luciana’s appearance on national television has helped raise her profile promoting Brazil with Brazilian companies and agriculture. Also in catering industry and she continues to run a very successful catering business as well as providing workshops and consultancy for individuals as well as large companies.