Chef Rivandro Ricardo de França, former presenter of the program Sabor da Gente, on TV Jornal, in Recife (PE), was found dead on the morning of last Saturday, the 23rd, inside his home, in the neighborhood of Maranguape I, in the municipality of Paulista, in the metropolitan region of Recife.
According to initial information from the police, the chef’s body had no marks of violence and the house showed no signs of forced entry. The body will be taken to the Pernambuco Legal Medicine Institute (IML), in Santo Amaro, in the central region of the capital of Pernambuco, where it will be examined for identify the cause of death.
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Rivandro França’s last contact – he passed away at the age of 45 – with his family was on Friday night, the 22nd. wife and two children: a girl and a boy.
Passion for the kitchen
Despite being a renowned chef, Rivandro França took a long time to realize his dream. Before starting in gastronomy, he worked for almost 20 years as a nursing technician. Son of Paraíba parents – Ricardo Luiz de França and Luzinete Maria de França -, Rivandro was born in the capital of Pernambuco, but spent his childhood in Olinda.
He never hid that his great inspiration It was his father, who was also a cook. And, alongside him, she learned to gain a taste for cooking and, in the future, to have culinary skills regional as a reference in your dishes.
The chef was also the owner of the restaurant Cozinhando Escondidinho, one of the most popular in the North Zone of Recife. With his regional dishes, Rivandro achieved recognition from critics specializing in gastronomy, receiving the award for New Chef 2013, by Guia Brasil; the first star in Guia Quatro Rodas; elected the best Chef in Pernambuco, in 2016, by the national Dólmã award; among other awards that were displayed in the restaurant.
SJCC presenter
In addition to being a chef, Rivandro França also proved to be a great communicator. In 2020, he debuted in the presentation of Sabor da Gente, on TV Jornal, remaining in charge of the program until the end of 2023. Since then, Rivandro has started to present the show Feira da Super Manhã, on Saturdays, on Rádio Jornal.
The Sistema Jornal do Commercio de Comunicação issued a note of regret after the chef’s death:
“It is with great regret that we say goodbye to the chef, businessman and communicator Rivandro França who, with his talent, shone on the TV Jornal screen and, in recent months, livened up Rádio Jornal’s Saturday mornings with the Super Morning Fair. Inventive, simple and captivating, Chef Rivandro won over the public. Rivandro left early, but his legacy will remain for the new generations of Pernambuco and Northeastern gastronomy. To the family, all our solidarity.”
Will be missed
Rivandro’s colleagues from the Jornal do Commercio de Comunicação System (SJCC) lamented the death of the chef. “It is with great sadness that we received the news of Chef Rivandro’s passing. On TV Jornal from 2020 to 2023, in the presentation of the program Sabor da Gente, and, currently on the Super Manhã fair, Rádio Jornal, on Saturdays, chef Riva, For those close to him, he will be greatly missed. In addition to the delicious dishes, a work colleague we had much affection. May God comfort us, family, friends and fans”, declared Eloísa Felinto, TV and Radio Jornal programming coordinator.
The presenter of TV Jornal Meio-Dia, Anne Barretto, fondly remembers her time with the chef, who, despite a hectic routine, always had a smile on his face and a friendly word. “Chef Rivandro was a good person, with a light soul and who exuded friendliness in the TV corridors. Even in the rush of everyday life, he made a point of talking to everyone and always had a smile on his face. We met with calmer at lunch time, in the canteen, and he always had a story of perseverance. A friendly word. He was playful. He loved his family and food. One day, I remember I said that I really wanted to eat a cake, but he was on a diet and was going to avoid it. He looked at me and said: ‘life is too short to stop eating cake. Enjoy the pleasures of life. Just don’t overdo it’. I’ll never forget him. A great friend” , recalled Anne Barretto.
Someone who also greatly regretted the death of Rivandro França was the presenter of Rádio Jornal Ciro Bezerra, who had the opportunity to work with the chef on TV and Rádio Jornal. “I met Rivandro when I was a customer at his restaurant, there in Casa Amarela. I even did a story about him as a character, during June, which was the challenge of making a different tamale, which we showed on a panel on the program O Povo Na TV. And finally, we had the opportunity to work together on both television and radio. He was always a very optimistic guy, super happy, talking about wonderful projects, full of ideas. Therefore, for me, it is a very sad day”, said Ciro Bezerra, very emotional.
TV Jornal presenter, Flávio Barra, showed himself unbeliever with the early departure of a co-worker. “Not believing yet. May God comfort your family,” he wrote on a social network. Someone who was also touched by chef Rivandro’s death was the mayor of Recife, João Campos, who participated last year in the Sabor da Gente program.
“It is with deep regret that I learned of the passing of chef Rivandro França. With your passion for local cuisine and his talent for communication, Rivandro left his mark on the cuisine of our State and also in the hearts of those who had the privilege of knowing him. My sincere condolences to his wife, children, other family and friends at this time of pain and longing. May God comfort your hearts and may Rivandro’s legacy endure as an inspiration for everyone”, said the note from the mayor of Recife.
Good and affordable food
JC Negócios columnist, Fernando Castilho, stated that Rivandro cooked delicious dishes and that he was accessible to all types of audiences. “It became a reference in regional, simple and low-cost cuisine, which made the housewife feel like putting out a Dolmen even if it was to prepare couscous, a breaded steak made from corned beef kitut or a Coqueiro sardine moqueca . França prepared food thinking about the final cost of the dish for the family. Perhaps because, as a restaurant owner, he knew that the price of a dish on the menu is determined from the bottom up. And he had this awareness and sensitivity”, said the columnist from JC.
Regarding Rivandro França’s other gift, communication, Fernando Castilho stated that he was so intimate with viewers, that he would enter the homes of those who watched him and occupied the kitchen. “There are people who connect with us in such a strong way, who become part of our lives in such a close way that they ‘almost’ become family. Chef Rivandro França was one of those people, who made us talk to the TV as if he were in our living room. In fact, in our kitchen”, said the journalist, praising the chef’s cooking style of teaching how to make good, cheap food.
*Via Rede Nordeste
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