Chef Cláudio Cardoso is a Portuguese chef with over two decades of international experience across Europe, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East. Raised around kitchens and farms, he developed an early passion for food and produce that has shaped every stage of his career. He currently serves as Executive Chef at Al Naseem, Jumeirah Group, where he leads the culinary vision with a focus on quality, seasonality, and refined simplicity.

After completing his degree at the Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Studies in Estoril, Portugal, Cláudio travelled the world to deepen his culinary knowledge, training in five-star hotels and top upmarket restaurants. His path took him from Le Quartier Français in Cape Town to the Armani Hotel in Dubai and the Bulgari Hotel in Milan, before he was named Head Chef of the Michelin-starred restaurant Midori at The Ritz-Carlton Penha Longa. Along the way, he earned stages at some of the world's most celebrated kitchens — Central in Peru with Virgilio Martínez, Pollen Street Social with Jason Atherton, Rhodes Twenty Four with Gary Rhodes, Tom Aikens with Tom Aikens, The Narrow with Gordon Ramsay, and the opening of Sergi Arola's Michelin-starred restaurant. In London, he built his reputation further as Group Executive Chef for the global brand SUSHISAMBA.

Beyond the kitchen, Cláudio is a committed environmental activist, advocating for rainforest preservation and climate action. As an ambassador for Cool Earth — a non-profit patroned by Dame Vivienne Westwood — he has travelled to the Amazon to support local communities and conservation research. The experience inspired a menu of rainforest-inspired dishes, created to raise awareness for Cool Earth's work.

With a portfolio of international openings including SUSHISAMBA London City, Covent Garden, Amsterdam, and Miami, as well as The Ritz-Carlton Abama in Tenerife, Chef Cláudio Cardoso has proven himself a valuable asset to every business he has been part of, developing or established alike.