Manuela Goncalves Tavares.

Manuela Goncalves Tavares is well known in Rotterdam for her restaurant Coco in the Hoogstraat as well as previous ventures such as Toko 94 and Toko Trash. She regards heart and soul as essential ingredients in the kitchen and sees the restaurant not as a constantly changing concept, but as building on tradition by adding something new. Her own creations are based on an approach that she defines as 'tokological' - based on the hidden treasures, flavours and cultures that you find in the different tokos (food shops and small eateries) in the city: a real Rotterdam mix of Afro-Caribbean, Asian and Mediterranean influences.

The menu of the Nieuwe Café features her colourful, often seasonal, vegetarian and vegan dishes, including, for example, a purple sweet potato soup with coconut milk, lime and plantain, and mushrooms with bok choy, coloured noodles and seaweed flakes.

Manuela for DAI:  APRiCot Garden 2025: Research as Regenerative Practice