ESPORTE COM EDUARDO COUTO · Eduardo Couto

ESPOD #21 - Chefs Lia Muñoz e Vivian Christie

·32 min·3 clips

A Cuban chef explains why she says Brazilian and Cuban cuisines are practically the same.

1. Chefs Lia Muñoz and Vivian Christie appear on the ESPORTE COM EDUARDO COUTO podcast to discuss the opening of their restaurant Sublime in Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, Brazil. 2. Lia Muñoz is a Cuban-born chef who has lived in Brazil for 22 years; she graduated in culinary arts in Cuba, worked in hotel chains including the Osmeliar network, and later worked in the United States before settling in Espírito Santo; Vivian Christie co-leads the kitchen at Sublime. 3. The episode's core thesis is that Sublime's success comes from combining international culinary technique with the warmth and attentiveness of home cooking. 4. Lia explains that she chose Brazil over the United States — where her parents and siblings live — because she identified more with Brazilian culture, which she compares to Cuba due to the shared staple of rice and beans. 5. She describes professional hotel kitchen work as extremely demanding: cooking buffets for 1,000 people, working shifts from 3am to midnight, and on one occasion being unable to leave during a cyclone. 6. Lia notes that when she graduated, 29 of her 30 classmates were men, and Vivian adds that all 10-15 women who started her culinary programme alongside her eventually dropped out, leaving Vivian as the sole remaining woman. 7. Vivian describes Capixaba (Espírito Santo) cuisine as still largely unknown outside the state: even in São Paulo, knowledge is limited to the torta capixaba and moqueca, with many people incorrectly attributing the dish to Bahia. 8. The menu at Sublime was developed between May and August, combining Cuban, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, and French cuisine with Capixaba dishes, built on familiar protein bases but with distinctive international seasoning. 9. Lia received approximately 500 resumes during recruitment, dismissed Vivian's initially as overqualified ('I'm looking for cooks, not chefs'), reconsidered after a week, called her, and the two exchanged what she calls '1,500 ideas' in their first conversation. 10. Their supplier network — developed over years working in Espírito Santo — includes noble meat brands, decorative flowers, and fresh mushrooms sourced from the cold forest of Afonso Cláudio. 11. Sublime's signature differentiator is a Charbroile gas grill, which produces the visual grill marks and smoky flavour of traditional barbecue but with gas-controlled heat, allowing faster service suited to business-lunch customers who cannot wait for coal. 12. The restaurant operates a buffet format Wednesday through Sunday, 11am to 3pm, at José Pena Medina Street, number 380, near Shopping Praia da Costa in Vila Velha; an à la carte dinner service is planned for a future phase. 13. Lia's daughter, aged 20, manages the administrative and cashier side of the business, having joined after encouraging her mother to act on the restaurant dream; Lia describes her daughter's first day as 'crossfire' but notes she said 'Mom, I'm loving it.' 14. Lia had cooked paella for 50 people at her home before opening the restaurant, with guests standing because there were not enough seats — a recurring informal catering practice that preceded Sublime. 15. Both chefs describe a kitchen culture where 'no day is the same as the other' — planning exists but is regularly overturned by improvisation, and team members including kitchen assistants are encouraged to propose new ideas. 16. Vivian states that the most praised dishes at Sublime, including a ceviche a customer said was the best they had ever eaten, emerged from recipes the chefs developed on weekends and holidays before opening. 17. The interview is conducted in a mix of Portuguese and English; host Eduardo Couto and a second host lead the conversation, which is informal and warm with occasional laughter. 18. The episode blends career biography, culinary philosophy, and promotional content for Sublime, with both chefs and hosts relaxed and candid. 19. Food industry professionals, aspiring restaurateurs, and listeners interested in immigrant entrepreneurship stories in Brazil will find this episode engaging. 20. Those looking for cooking technique instruction, recipe discussions, or content focused outside the Espírito Santo region of Brazil are unlikely to find this episode useful.

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