Across Lisbon's historic center you'll find dozens of "tascas", traditional little taverns decorated with floral patterns of blue tiles.
Each one serves an almost identical menu of salt cod or sardines with boiled potatoes, robust Douro wine and the intensely sweet puddings that, for visitors, come to symbolize Portugal.
But there is only one place where you can taste an edible "stone" made of cod. Or a liver mousse, or a flower-topped "bouquet" of tuna from the Azores, butter flavored with a beloved local sausage, sea shellfish paired with pickled strawberry. Or hearty Portuguese cozido stew, reduced to a single cabbage leaf and a paste-like essence.
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And all of it exists because there is only one Jose Avillez.
Breaking with tradition
In a compact country where a single person can still make a difference (Portugal may be 10 centuries old, but its population barely reaches 10 million) this chef is the driving force reimagining the cuisine of his homeland.
Avillez, 37, is the creator of Belcanto, the first restaurant in Lisbon to earn two Michelin stars.
In Portugal he is almost everywhere, thanks to his six restaurants, four cookbooks, daily radio tips and a popular TV series.
"Sometimes I just want to be a cook in a kitchen nobody knows about," he says. "But my friends keep telling me to push forward, because I'm the person who can do it."
With a dark beard and a sculpted face reminiscent of Portuguese seafarers, he is single-handedly steering traditional Portuguese cooking toward its rightful place in modern fine dining.
"Our ancestors traveled all over the world," says Avillez. "Now it's our turn to show the world our country's new culinary face."
Driven by pride in a rich Mediterranean cuisine that he calls "still very underrated," Avillez is well aware that Portugal's experimentation and image lag far behind those of its larger neighbor, Spain.
His family's disappointment
To find inspiration, the young chef trained at El Bulli near Barcelona, the restaurant that launched a culinary revolution in so-called "molecular" cooking.
"That's where I really started thinking outside the box," he says.
"When I began my career 16 years ago, with a degree in business management, no one in my family wanted me to become a chef.
"The profession was looked down on, it had low status, there were no celebrities."
Avillez, whose family can trace its roots to the nobility, grew up in Cascais, a picturesque port town turned resort on the Atlantic coast an hour's drive from Lisbon, and now a popular spot for retired Americans.
Here Avillez became familiar from an early age with the sights, sounds and especially the flavors of the sea.
It's no surprise that Belcanto's menu is 70% local seafood, which the chef declares to be "the best in the world," and includes signature dishes such as "A Dip in the Sea" and "The Bottom of the Ocean."
Food that tells a story
"Whether it's rooted in a memory or a landscape, every dish has to tell a story," Avillez explains. "Just as a painting tells a story too."
That's why his tasting menus are named the "Lisbon Menu" and "Discovery," nodding both to Portugal's maritime explorations and to the array of new flavors introduced here.
From the unusual new vantage point of a small "chef's table" tucked into a far corner of Belcanto's kitchen, guests can watch Avillez run a very tight ship.
Footage from surveillance cameras at the various kitchen stations is provided so they can follow the slicing and plating.
"The most important thing is to respect your guests and respect your own vision, keeping everything at the highest level possible," he says.
To that end, Avillez has set up a lab for new creations and his own farm on the outskirts of Cascais.
'Flavor comes first'
"The connection with Portuguese suppliers is always inspiring," he adds.
"But I don't think it's right to become a fundamentalist about buying everything local. Flavor comes first."
At Belcanto he more than proves it with his modern cabidela, a peasant dish reimagined as a wreath of tender oxtail full of smoked eel and dressed with beetroot sauce instead of blood.
Or with the illusion of a garlic clove that opens up to release almond milk.
He's especially proud of his humble xerem, a traditional cornmeal porridge transformed with a herb sauce, clams and fish innards.
"As Ferran Adria taught us at El Bulli, a fresh sardine is far better than an old lobster."
Although he cooks more traditional dishes on request and serves them at the nearby Cantinho do Avillez and his other, more casual venues, his cooks seem eager to keep evolving so they can showcase the full range of Portuguese ingredients.
"Even though we think of it as our own, Portuguese food is shaped by North African spices, by ingredients from our former colonies in Asia and Africa, and we were the gateway for tomatoes and peppers from the New World."
Now, thanks to Avillez, tourists can explore all of that heritage in a single meal.
"Thinking that people come here on their honeymoon, or travel 10,000 miles for my food, while I promote my city and my country, that's truly wonderful."
It doesn't matter that the meticulously miniaturized presentation looks more Japanese than European.
With Jose Avillez at the helm, he can guarantee that "there is Portuguese DNA in every bite, and a Portuguese soul on every plate."
