Know this chef, author who put Goan cuisine on the world map

Two years ago, Flavel Monteiro made a quiet but determined return to Goa. For someone who held a golden visa to the UAE and enjoyed the luxuries of Dubai, the decision to come back to his homeland wasn’t about retirement or nostalgia, it was about reconnection.

“I could have everything, luxury, comfort and convenience, but what I couldn’t get there was fruit from my own tree or fresh coconut water every morning. That’s the kind of longing that brought me home,” he says.

For Goan food with a mother’s touch, head to Ghargutee

Flavel isn’t your average homecoming story. At 60, he’s earned global recognition as a food writer, curator, and what international media fittingly dubbed The Chef Whisperer. A name coined by The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi, it captures his uncanny ability to know, connect, and understand chefs across the globe, not just by reputation, but by philosophy, palate, and passion.

Flavel Monteiro's Best of Dubai project, run in collaboration with the Dubai Tourism Department, was ground breaking. But the call of Goa was louder.

FROM DUBAI'S KITCHENS TO GOA'S SOUL

Flavel spent years in Dubai’s fast-paced culinary scene, curating lists, critiquing restaurants, and building culinary narratives. His Best of Dubai project, run in collaboration with the Dubai Tourism Department, was ground breaking. But the callof Goa was louder.

“I’m not here to change culinary trends,” he clarifies. “I’m here to shine a light on what already exists. Honest, grounded Goan food, both known and unknown, deserves its due.”

A culinary celebration of Sao Joao at The Goan Kitchen

That intent gave rise to Savor Goa: The Best Restaurants, a book that has now been crowned the best food tourism book in the world at the Gourmand Awards. It wasn’t just a glossy compilation, but a deeply researched, honestly written guide to Goa’s most authentic culinary experiences.

From fine dining restaurants like White Plate

in Candolim and Cavatina in Benaulim to lesser-known gems like The Goan Kitchen in Margao (a home-run, all-women culinarypowerhouse), the book captures it all.

PROUD MOMENT: Flavel Monteiro and Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte launch the former's coffee table book, 'Savor Goa: The Best Restaurants.'

“What’s the point of paying huge bills at places that don’t live up to the hype?” he asks. “Influencers take money, post curated pictures, and leave people disappointed. I wanted to change that. I went to every place myself. Ate, paid, judged and then wrote.”

Flavel Monteiro What’s the point of paying huge bills at places that don’t live up to the hype?

A LATE DEGREE, AN EARLY START AGAIN

At 58, Flavel completed a course from Le Cordon Bleu. “It’s never too late to learn,” he chuckles, but his heart still beats in the kitchen. “I feel more like a chef than a writer,” he admits. “Because I can write a recipein my head, taste it in my mind and palate, and know if it works.”

His now-closed restaurant Taste in Caranzalem once served a unique blend of Japanese, Filipino, and Korean food with Goan inflections, inspired by his wife’s Filipino heritage and his own adventurous palate. He plans to reopen it once construction near his space clears.

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In the meantime, he’s already deep into new projects. After Savor Goa

, came the Gastronome Guide, an ambitious pan-India food exploration. “I keep saying, ‘This will be my last book.’ But somehow, another one begins. It’s like a calling.”

Flavel Monteiro Unlike the French or Italians who come together despite rivalries, we Indians pull each other down. Goa needs collective culinary pride

ON GOAN CUISINE AND COLLECTIVE GROWTH

Despite the accolades, Monteiro remains blunt in his assessment of Goa’s food evolution: “It’s going backwards,” he says. “Unlike the French or Italians who come together despite rivalries, we Indians pull each other down. Goa needs collective culinary pride.”

His philosophy is rooted in integrity, something he believes is fading in today's pay-to-praise culture. “Awards should be earned, not bought,” he asserts. “Savor Goa

won globally because it was honest. No one paid for a place in that book.”

Don't let the sumptuous story of Goan food go sour

A VOICE FOR GOA, FROM GOA

Monteiro isn’t leaving Goa. “This is my home. No one’s shifting me from here,” he smiles. His books may reach international audiences, but his stories remain rooted in Goa’s soil; from coconut palms to street kitchens, from fine dining elegance to family-run spice-infused simplicity.

On a parting note, he offers a final thought: “Goa has so much to offer. But we must learn to show it to the world, not for vanity, but with pride.”