Correio dos Açores – How did you get to the Azores?
Maycon Melo (Sushi Master) – I’m from the interior of Mato Grosso do Sul in Brazil. I come from a small town of 20,000 inhabitants called Fátima do Sul. It’s a region with a lot of wetlands and a lot of agriculture and livestock farming. I’ve always lived there.
When my mother died when I was 14, we had to move to another town. My father was already living in Portugal then, and we moved to another region of Brazil, but in the same state. I was raised by my aunt at the time. I went to university when I was 17 and studied Animal Science in a town 500 kilometers from the capital and in the middle of a wetland. So, you could say that I had contact with agriculture and livestock farming from a very early age.
After a few years, I was a bit lost. I hadn’t managed to get over the loss of my mother, and I couldn’t organize my life. As my father lived in Portugal, I decided to come here.
While in Brazil, I had my first taste of cooking. When I was 14, I worked in a food truck owned by a friend of my father’s to distract myself. So, I also started working in the restaurant business very early on.

You came to the Azores when you enrolled in the Biology course at the University of the Azores…
I came here to fulfill my father’s dream: to bring the whole family together. When I arrived, I could transfer and continue my degree in Zootechnics, studying Biology at the University of the Azores. After a few years, I was challenged to take a course directly linked to Asian cuisine, specifically sushi. I accepted the challenge more as a joke, and things started to happen.

Have you ever thought that you would be a sushi master at this stage in your life?
Honestly, I never imagined working directly with food. I was aware that I had a particular affection for the restaurant business itself, for serving people. Ever since I was young, I’ve considered myself a good host; I’ve always been very connected to people. I always felt that I had that connection but never imagined I would be behind the counter, let alone making sushi on an incredible island like São Miguel.

What is sushi to you?
For me, it’s a lifestyle. The art of working with sushi is realizing how delicate the raw material is and how responsible we must be. It’s an added responsibility. First of all, take care of what you serve. It’s paying attention to how much you serve and getting positive feedback from people.

Is it easy to find fresh fish to work within the Azores?
The Azores have an excellent thing going for them: getting fresh fish here is effortless. The region is extremely rich in fish, seafood, and meat.
The Azores have enormous potential for those who work with sushi. As I often say, it’s straightforward to be a chef here with many products that speak for themselves without having to invent much. It’s a practical cuisine; you have to respect our products. In sushi, we have this responsibility when serving raw or braised foods. Having these products that speak for themselves is a perfect thing.

How did you become the head sushi chef at Senhora da Rosa?
In 2022, I was working on a joint project with a local restaurant. This project went very well, and I was approached by Dr. Joana Damião. She approached me to take on this project and then challenged me more concisely to participate with her and grow together in this project.
It wasn’t me who came to Senhora da Rosa; it was Senhora da Rosa who came to me, honestly. I forged a relationship with the General Manager, Dr. Joana, and we got here based on her challenges and dreams. I took a good look at the project and decided to accept. Thank God it’s been going from strength to strength ever since.

How can you combat the turnover in restaurants?
We live in the Azores, in a peripheral region, and we have clear examples of how things could be better. Perhaps two factors should be separated: personal development and the professional development of people within people.
On a personal level, a drastic salary improvement in a region depends almost exclusively on tourism. Around 70% of the summer economy comes from tourism. If we can generate and retain money in the region quickly, looking at people’s careers and reviewing their salaries would be essential. Working conditions should also be improved. It’s a callous, challenging area, and you must love what you do. It’s an area where you spend more time with your family in the kitchen than with your family at home. The trend would be to improve people’s conditions, especially regarding salary, to retain more people.
It would be essential to stop and rethink, and companies could adopt a slightly different attitude since they all can grow. If one company manages to take a step forward, I think the others will follow suit.

Are there any fish that you enjoy handling the most?
In a region like the Azores, it’s hard to choose because there’s such a wide range of fish that it’s amazing. But yes, I have my favorite fish.
I like working with the lily, a fatty, healthy fish. I also really like working with grouper, a white fish that isn’t very common here. There are various fish in the Azores that have delicious meat. And, of course, I couldn’t leave out tuna.

Is reconciling life as a chef with family life challenging, especially since you’ve only recently become a father?
I usually say that, so far, I’ve managed to reconcile life with work. I’m very passionate and enjoy the challenges that arise. In reality, those who work in this area suffer a lot, but I believe those who share their lives with those who work in it probably suffer more. As we enjoy it, the days go by, and we manage to put up with it.
With a four-month-old baby, I’m starting to look at time more. I’m also organizing things better to see if there’s any time left to spend with the family. It’s not easy. At times, we work long hours when people are going out, and we’re there to welcome them, and we have to treat them well. Our service is about welcoming people.

What other projects do you have in mind?
I’m also a trainer. I enjoy cooking, and the project at Senhora da Rosa is off to a great start. But life is a box of surprises, and I’m a dreamer. I left my country for a better life; you never know the future and what’s in store for you. I really want to start my own business because I love serving others.

Do you have anything else to add?
I’d like to tell people to be passionate and dedicated and live their dreams. Strive for your goals and be happy. Find something that makes you happy, and don’t forget your family and friends.

Frederico Figueiredo-journalist for the newspaper Correio dos Açores-Natalino Viveiros, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.