Carlos Henriques
Owner and co-founder of Restaurant Nolla
Carlos Henriques is the owner and co-founder of Restaurant Nolla, recognized as one of the most sustainable venues in the world. Carlos’ growing frustration at the amount of leftover food that went into the bin at restaurants was one of the catalysts for pioneering Restaurant Nola which has a core focus on – zero-waste dining.
After completing a degree in hospitality management, Carlos launched his catering company in Portugal, his native country. He decided then to travel the world and train with chefs from renowned restaurants. Carlos’ world tour saw him work at Le Mirazur, the prestigious French restaurant ranked in the Top 50s Best Restaurants in the world. Carlos then went onto London where he worked at the Michelin two-star restaurant Chez Dominique. From there, he moved on to the restaurant Olo where he met his work-partners who co-founded Restaurant Nolla. Before launching Restaurant Nolla, Carlos worked for the Royal Ravintolat restaurant group, one of the biggest restaurant groups in the Nordic countries, as an Executive Head Chef.
With his extensive experience in the hospitality industry, Carlos always wanted to build his own restaurant. The success of Restaurant Nolla and its sustainable approach has been recognized by the hospitality industry worldwide. Nolla, which means ‘zero’ in Finnish, was recently awarded the Michelin Guide Sustainability emblem, which recognizes the restaurant as one of the most sustainable venues in the world. They’ve also won the 360° Eat Guide price for their waste-reducing practices and management.
Carlos views sustainability as not one specific aspect of a restaurant, but as the little actions businesses can take to make a positive impact on our environment. Awarded with a Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand, as well as voted the best restaurant by Finnish magazine Ruoka & Viini and Restaurant of the year at Elo, the focus at Nolla is to reduce food wastage and carbon footprints, but also to deliver great contemporary food.
