Palmirinha Onofre
Brazilian cook, television presenter and author
Biography
Palmirinha Onofre (Bauru, 1931 - São Paulo, 2023) was a Brazilian cook, television presenter and author who became one of the best-loved faces of cooking programmes in her country. Her screen career began when she was already past sixty, and she came to be popularly known as the "grandmother" of Brazil, a nickname that reflects the affection viewers felt for her warm, down-to-earth way of teaching people to cook.
Born in Bauru, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, she learned her first kitchen skills from her mother and grandmother. Her childhood and youth were marked by abuse at home, and for a time she lived with a French woman who helped shape her cooking. After marrying to leave her family behind, she spent years in a difficult marriage until she had the means to support her daughters on her own.
She first appeared on television in 1994, on TV Bandeirantes, and soon afterwards was invited onto a morning show where she became a regular presenter. Her own cooking programmes followed, first on TV Gazeta, with a simple style that avoided pretension. She died in São Paulo in May 2023, aged 91. Her legacy is having brought home cooking into millions of Brazilian kitchens.
Key contributions
- Cooking programmes on television, such as those she hosted on TV Gazeta, which made her popular across Brazil.
- Her presence on morning shows, where she moved from guest to regular presenter.
- The book A receita da minha vida (2017), with recipes and memories from her life.
- Her role as a judge on the cooking show Chef ao Pé do Ouvido (2019).