Henrique Fogaça on Inspiration, Business and the Road Ahead

Editor’s note: originally published in 2019 and updated in September 2026.

Henrique Fogaça goes from zero to a hundred in a few seconds. Chef, motorcyclist, skateboarder, hardcore vocalist, tattooed from head to toe. And behind the deep voice and the acid remarks that made him known as a judge on MasterChef Brasil, there is a man of good humour and rare discipline.

The name of the band he fronts, Oitão, sums up his temperament. The rest shows in the kitchen. Fogaça opened Sal Gastronomia in São Paulo in 2005 and has since built a small ecosystem: the gastropub Cão Véio, which opened locations in several cities, the whisky bar Admiral’s Place, and a television presence that began in 2014, when he debuted as a MasterChef judge. Today Sal has two restaurants in São Paulo, on Rua Bela Cintra and at Shopping Cidade Jardim, and is part of the Michelin Guide Brazil selection.

In 2019 he talked to WAYFARER about origins, business and plans. The interview below preserves the answers from that moment.

How did your involvement with gastronomy begin?

I have always loved eating. When I worked at the bank, I decided to eat better instead of eating frozen food. That is when I started taking risks in the kitchen and testing new recipes.

How do you define your cooking? Which chefs inspire you?

Although I don’t much like labels, I’d call my cuisine contemporary with Brazilian touches. Among chefs, Anthony Bourdain.

You had just opened Sal Grosso in Rio de Janeiro. How was the brand adapted?

In Rio I launched Sal Grosso, a steakhouse with everyday food, but well made. It was very well received. As for going international, I really want to go to Europe, to Portugal.

What are the challenges of taking an established brand to other cities?

They are daily challenges, a lion a day. Leading a team, committed people, the recipe sheets, purchasing, the search for quality raw materials. A set of factors that leads to success.

They are daily challenges, a lion a day.

Henrique Fogaça

How does Cão Véio keep the standard of the original house across several locations?

Everything is very standardised, with training, meetings and a lot of dialogue with the team and the chefs of each house, to keep the same standard.

MasterChef opened many doors. What were your plans for television?

Yes, MasterChef opened many doors. It is a show that inspires people and works on the cultural side of Brazilian gastronomy. I intend to continue. As for the future on TV, maybe a solo show, cooking in Brazil’s biomes, in the Amazon or the Pantanal. We are still designing that project.

Seven years later, he remains at the MasterChef Brasil counter, and the wish for a show of his own has taken another form: O Mundo do Sal, a series between documentary and reality about the role of salt in different cultures, announced by Band for 2026.

Alain Ducasse says he uses Instagram to run his restaurants. How do you see social media in business?

Today the whole world is connected, especially on Instagram. The network is a very strong lever to show our work, for people to get to know the dishes, the setting, everything that involves the restaurant. It is a very good tool to stay in the media and for more people to get to know me.

Sal Gastronomia
Rua Bela Cintra, 1958, Consolação, São Paulo
Also at Shopping Cidade Jardim, Av. Magalhães de Castro, 12000
Contemporary Brazilian cuisine, à la carte and tasting menus; part of the Michelin Guide Brazil selection

From the bank to the kitchen, from the kitchen to television, and always back to the stove. Fogaça keeps going from zero to a hundred, only now with the same old address as his starting point.

WAYFARER