If you ask Greg Bosi and Frederico Leonardo Dora what their two sons love to eat, you’ll find it’s not a prototypical kid favorite like mac and cheese. “The recipe that they love the most is one of the first recipes that we cooked for them, a mushroom galette,” says Greg, referring to a flaky tart with an assortment of mushrooms and cheese. “They ask for it on a weekly basis.”

That’s just a typical dinner in the family’s household in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Both Greg and Fred’s professional lives revolve around food, and even after they clock out, they love to cook at home. Fred studied the culinary arts in college, but upon realizing that he didn’t want a career confined to a restaurant or hotel kitchen, switched to media studies. He’s been producing food content for the internet ever since, most recently at the YouTube channel Banquete.

After the couple met over a berry smoothie 16 years ago, Greg became enamored with cooking, too. “What got me into cooking was that I met Fred and we fell in love, and I started seeing how he was doing it,” says Greg, who worked in marketing up to that point and now produces content for the Brazilian studio of Tastemade, as well as his own Instagram recipe tutorial— and he recently completed a stint on the reality show MasterChef Brasil earlier this year.

Three months before the pandemic, the couple adopted their children, Henrique and Vicente, and soon realized they wanted more space than their current apartment provided, including a bedroom for each child and a dedicated office for Greg. “We wanted to have a separate space with doors because I talk a lot,” says Greg, with a laugh. “This way, I wouldn’t interrupt Fred and the kids while they were doing other stuff.”

When a two-floor, three-bedroom penthouse became available in a building just fifty meters from where they were living, they went to go see it, but they weren’t impressed. “The kitchen was too small,” says Fred. “The apartment was in a building from 1998, so it was not vintage, and not new. It had this weird ’90s vibe.”

It wasn’t until the couple brought over architects Rogério Gurgel and Caio D’Alfonso, of the firm Gurgel D’Alfonso Arquitetura, that they started to see the apartment’s potential. And most importantly, that the kitchen could be much, much bigger.

Before: Living Room and Dining Room

After: Living Room and Kitchen

The architects proposed knocking out the existing wall that constrained the kitchen, and expanding it into the main living space. “They are really connected to food, not just in terms of being influencers,” says Gurgel. “So, the idea was to turn the kitchen into the center of the social and family life of the apartment.”

Before: Kitchen

After: Kitchen

Now, freestanding stainless-steel units wrap the couple’s beloved Bertazzoni stove, which they kept from their previous apartment. “We basically wanted to build something that would go around that stove,” says D’Alfonso, and they opted for custom cabinetry and counters from Mekal Brasil. The stainless steel is flanked by a family heirloom wood table on one end, and a large “cube” of green Vitória Régia quartzite on the other.

“We wanted something that was very geometric, and at the same time, we had to design a few details in order to make it functional,” says D’Alfonso. Practical components, like drawer storage, can be found on the planes of the cube facing away from the main room—so although it presents as a sculptural piece, it’s actually hiding mess and keeping essentials close at hand near the stovetop.

Before: Kitchen

After: Kitchen

Tall pantry cabinets and the refrigerator are banked against the far wall, all covered in sheets of brass that glow in the shifting sunlight throughout the day. “It’s very bright and unusual,” Fred says of the finish, which is one of their favorite details. “Especially in a more minimalist kitchen, the material stands out.”

The new arrangement satisfies the couple’s number one requirement—“prep space, because in our old kitchen, we didn’t have enough of it,” says Greg—while creating a long axis that directs views to the outdoor terrace, where they can watch the sunset over the city. “Now the kitchen also has the best view of the apartment,” says D’Alfonso. “Everything is connected around it.”

Before: Sunroom

After: Kitchen and Dining Room

As expected, family life revolves around the kitchen—especially on weekends, when the couple get to experiment with longer, more challenging recipes, spread their materials all over the counters, and the children enjoy joining in the prep, often chopping onions and garlic. “They really love touching food and the different materials,” says Greg, adding with a laugh: “I believe the most exciting part of cooking [for them] is holding a sharp knife.”

While the weekly recipes will change—recent picks were lasagna (Fred) and beef stroganoff with a Brazilian twist (Greg)—a mainstay simmering on the stove is Feijoada, a traditional black bean and rice dish that the couple like to make vegetarian (or with a little bacon) to have on hand for the upcoming week.

No matter what’s being made, the couple’s ethos is the same: Being in the kitchen with the people you love, cooking and eating together, is the best part of any recipe. “It’s really a dream come true,” says Fred.

Before: Primary Bathroom

After: Primary Bathroom

Before: Bathtub

After: Bathtub

Before: Primary Bedroom

After: Primary Bedroom

Before: Closet

After: Office

More Before & After stories:

You’d Never Guess This Tiny Oasis Is in the Middle of São Paulo

A Couple Give a Treasured Family Home a Fresh Start—Furniture and All

A Pavilion-Like Addition Opens Up a São Paulo Home for Three Generations

Project Credits:

Architecture and Interior Design: Gurgel D’Alfonso Arquitetura / @gurgeldalfonso_

Builder: Smartplan Engenharia

Cabinetry Design: Contexto Marcenaria

Stainless-Steel Kitchen: Mekal

Also Appears In

Before & After: Two Foodies Give a Top-Floor Apartment a Top-Shelf Revamp in São Paulo