Having grown up in Guimarães, Portugal, Tiago felt a passion for cooking since early days. Although his culinary studies have introduced him to pastry, Italian, macrobiotic and Japanese cuisine, his life experience and passion always took him to the true and authentic origins of traditional Portuguese food.

Tiago still happily remembers those days when his mother would often bring broths for him to prepare his own meals…

He started still young, at the age of thirteen, working in a restaurant as a service and bar waiter. As a result of his keenness to customer service and discipline skills, at fifteen years old he was already a general manager.

It was at the age of 16 that he finally had an opportunity to work in a restaurant kitchen and that moment changed his life. The restaurant manager, Mr Carvalho, saw in him an avid learner and could not resist to teach him his famous “Francesinha” recipe which now Tiago proudly serves at Tuga.
Tiago’s cooking skills developed and became consistent when he worked as Sous-Chef at “Villa Fiori Pizzeria” for 8 years.

Being cooking his passion, even while doing military service in Timor Leste and Bosnia, Tiago could not resist to keep cooking Portuguese dishes to his brothers in arms.

Finally, in 2004, Tiago ventured in his own F&B business, at a point with four outlets, where he was not only the owner but also the manager and, of course, the Head Chef. For 14 years, between the restaurant, the grill, the pizzeria, the kebab and the café, Chef Tiago could experiment diverse approaches to gastronomy.

Starting to be known, he was invited to work as Chef at “Quinta do Burguês”, an innovative space designed to hold unique and special events, offering personalized services, at “O Toneco” restaurant, dedicated to grilled dishes, and at “Quinta da Alegria” and “Aloha”, here already has a Head Chef.

During his journey, Tiago also experienced to work with healthcare institutions, “We Care” (Póvoa do Varzim, Porto) and  “Casa do Paço Foundation” (Guimarães). These experiences were life-changing to Tiago as they taught him unforgettable lessons on more human approaches to one's needs.
The most challenging call came from Carlos Couto, owner of the Portuguese restaurant Tuga Taipei, to open Tuga Singapore as its Head Chef.

Proudly Portuguese and of his roots, Head Chef Tiago Martins is keen to bring to Singapore authentic Portuguese cuisine,  with its culture, traditions and the joy of sharing.