“Do you know what would have happened if people had said twelve years ago that we would have a restaurant in São Paulo and another in Rio de Janeiro; that work, study, and travel as related to us would be synonymous with food; that our friends would become our customers and our customers would become our friends; and that Carlota would even be featured in the New York Times? We would never have believed it!

It was like this: we lived in New York in the early 90s, and then we came back to live in São Paulo, in Higienópolis. We decided to open a small deli near our home with a few tables when our customers could nibble something while they waited for their orders to be filled. Our recipes included a little bit of everywhere in the world and a lot of Brazil. The number of customers kept increasing, and they kept staying longer and longer. The menu kept growing, the talk was good, and we began spending more and more time in the deli. All of a sudden we realized we had a really popularr restaurant. In 2001 we decided to open a Carlota in Leblon, the most charming neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. The São Paulo Carlota underwent expansion in early 2005 and we diversified our activities, publishing books, giving courses, providing advisory and buffet services, and promoting gastronomic trips.

Carla and Nando Pernambuco