Ofélia Anunciato

Brazilian chef and television host

Biography

Ofélia Ramos Anunciato, known as Ofélia Anunciato, was a well-known Brazilian chef who lived from 1924 to 1998. Her work unfolded in the press and on television during the second half of the twentieth century, at a time when the figure of the cook who teaches recipes to the public was taking shape in Brazil.

Her career as a public face of cooking began in 1958, when she started publishing recipes in the newspapers A Tribuna, from Santos, and A Gazeta, from São Paulo. That newspaper period led to television, where she hosted cooking programmes, among them A cozinha Maravilhosa de Ofélia, which gave its name to her work on screen.

Her legacy survives mainly in her recipes and in her role in presenting Brazilian cooking to a wider audience. In 2000, the publisher Melhoramentos released Ofélia, A Taste of Brazil, translated from Portuguese by Julie Martin, which brings her recipes to English-speaking readers. She died on 26 October 1998, so the book appeared after her death.

Key contributions

• The television programme A cozinha Maravilhosa de Ofélia, which brought Brazilian cooking to the screen.
• Recipes published from 1958 in A Tribuna (Santos) and A Gazeta (São Paulo), the start of her career as a public figure in cooking.
• Ofélia, A Taste of Brazil (2000), a book translated into English by Julie Martin that makes her recipes available beyond Portuguese-speaking readers.