Alex Atala

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Milad Alexandre Mack Atala (born July 3rd, 1968 in São Paulo, Brazil), is a Brazilian chef and former DJ who runs the restaurant D.O.M. in São Paulo. He works by transforming classic, traditional Brazilian dishes by adopting the French and Italian cuisine's techniques and, at the same time, using indigeous Brazilian ingredients.

Atala was born in the neighborhood of Mooca in São Paulo, from a middle-class family of Palestinian origin. His father, Milad Atala, was an employee of a rubber factory. Atala was raised in the city of São Bernardo do Campo. At the age of 14, he left his family home and went to live in São Paulo, where he worked as a DJ in the night club Rose Bom Bom.

When he was 18, he went on a backpacking trip to Europe. He first worked as a wall painter in Belgium. Following a friend's suggestion, he enrolled himself in a catering college. After his graduation, he has worked in restaurants in Belgium, France and Italy, where he has shaped his gastronomic skills besides learning to speak English, French and Italian.

In 1999, he opened the restaurant D.O.M.

Atala host a television show on Brazilian TV channel GNT.