Aritana Maroni, businesswoman and cook, gained prominence by participating in programs such as “MasterChef Brasil”, “A Fazenda” and “Power Couple Brasil”. His start on “MasterChef” was a turning point that allowed him to pursue gastronomy, despite his training in photography and cinema. “MasterChef was the turning point for me in being able to work in gastronomy”, comments Aritana, highlighting how the program propelled her towards a solid culinary career.
Aritana’s television career also included the program “Wife Swap”, where she faced the challenge of living with a vegan family, in contrast to her preference for meat. “It was an incredible but complicated experience,” she recalls. “You have to respect other people’s opinions, even if you don’t agree with them.” This experience taught her about the importance of respect and tolerance amid different food ideologies.
Growing up in an environment where cooking played a significant role, especially with her father raising beef cattle, Aritana developed a passion for food from an early age. The influences of her grandmothers and the need to cook at home contributed to her culinary training. “The influence of my two grandmothers weighed heavily on my cooking,” she says, highlighting how this family heritage shaped her skill and love for cooking, particularly in preparing meat.
Aritana also shared her reflections on participating in reality shows and media exposure. She highlights the challenge of dealing with pressure and criticism, but recognizes the importance of remaining authentic and resilient. “You can’t judge people without getting to know them first,” she says, reflecting on lessons learned from both food and television.
With new projects underway, including the resumption of culinary events and the production of frozen foods, Aritana continues to expand its presence in the world of gastronomy. For aspiring chefs and entrepreneurs, she advises: “Don’t give up on your dreams. If you’re sure that what you’re producing is good, make it happen.”
Aritana, you had a remarkable career on “MasterChef Brasil”, “A Fazenda” and “Power Couple Brasil”. How did these experiences influence your career in gastronomy?
“Masterchef” was the turning point for me in being able to work in gastronomy. Because in reality I have a degree in photography and cinema. I worked in film production, but at my father’s company. I had even worked in gastronomy, but nothing very serious. And then with “Masterchef” came the chance for me to really work with what I liked most, which was gastronomy.
His participation in “Troca de Esposas” generated a lot of repercussion, especially due to the contrast between his preference for meat and the vegan diet of the family he lived with. What was it like to face this situation and what were the main lessons learned from this episode?
In relation to “Wife Swap” it was an incredible experience, but it was complicated precisely because they respected my ideology and I respected theirs, you know, at no point did I want them to eat meat or do anything on the program, I just I wanted to have the right to be able to eat what I wanted to eat and what I learned from this is that you have to respect other people’s opinions, you may not agree with them, but you have to respect other people’s opinions.
What was it like growing up in an environment where cooking played an important role, especially with your father raising beef cattle? Did this experience influence your passion for gastronomy?
Yes, the influence of my two grandmothers was what weighed heavily on my cooking, right. Despite the need, my father and mother worked outside the home and I had to help cook at home with my brothers, because I was too boring to eat the girl who stayed at home. I didn’t like her food, I liked my grandmother’s food. When my grandmother was at home, I watched her cook. And then, when I didn’t want to eat the girl’s food, you know, Dalva’s, who worked at home, or when I complained about something, my mother said, go to the stove and do what your grandmother taught you to do. . In relation to my father with beef cattle, that’s where my passion for cooking protein comes from. Because I was raised on a farm in the countryside, you know, I was born in São Paulo, but I always lived a lot in the countryside. I had this facility with having the meat, being able to be close, seeing it, killing it, understanding the different types of cuts, how each cut worked. So, this really ended up influencing my passion for meat and proteins, which is one of the things I most enjoy cooking.
You have accumulated extensive experience in television programs. What is the biggest challenge of participating in a reality show, especially when it comes to gastronomy?
Well, I think for me the biggest challenge of participating in a reality show is that you have to deal with people’s egos and people’s deceit. It’s that game we play, you know, everyone says, no one can sustain a character in there for a long time. So I think it’s cool to see that, to see people try to create a character and see the masks fall off. In relation to gastronomy programs, for me the biggest challenge is to withstand the pressure that I put on myself. I’m a person who demands a lot from me, so in a food show, where the only person who can take me down is myself, I end up demanding a lot from myself, that’s why in other realities we depend on public voting and so on, So it’s more complicated to really deal with people’s egos, but in gastronomy programs, the biggest problem is myself, demanding what I need to deliver.
During your participation in “Power Couple Brasil”, you reached the final of the program. How was the journey throughout the competition and what would you highlight as the most memorable moments?
I reached the final, thanks to my merit and that of my ex-husband, you know, we managed to win almost all the tests, we made the biggest difference. But when it came to the end, the public preferred to vote, you know, for other people. And I think that for me the coolest thing about the program was taking the tests. The program’s tests were incredible for me, I’ll tell you that I loved it, right? We are there, seven days a week, three days a week we take tests. I was so anxious to get to the test days and take the tests, because I was going crazy trying to understand what the test would be and what challenge they would pose to us. I loved taking the tests, so for me it was the coolest thing.
After so many experiences on television, how do you deal with media exposure and the public’s opinions about your life and career?
Well, in terms of dealing with television and the public, I think that’s really cool, because everyone asks me that. Because I grew up with my dad being a public person, I think, like, I got used to it. And when I did “Masterchef”, I think I didn’t understand that so much. When I went to Fazenda, that was when I started to understand. And when I went to enter the Farm, my father turned to me and said, pay attention, you are entering a path of no return. From the moment you expose your life, expose your things, you have to be prone to receiving criticism. So, I mean, from the moment I open up my life, I have to be willing to receive criticism from people. And I’m saying it as a joke, right? I don’t like everyone. So, I don’t force people to like me either. If someone doesn’t like me, all they have to do is not be fake, look me in the face and say, I don’t like you. What I hate is how we know this works, is those people who talk bad about you, but when they are in front of you, they want to take a photo and chat in your face. back, understand? But I get along really well with it, I think people have the right not to like me or to like me. When I still joke and say that haters are people who want our attention, then I think that most of the time haters do what they do to get our attention and that’s it. If someone doesn’t like me and wants to come to my Instagram and insult me, that’s their right, but they’ll have to face the consequences because I can also give my opinion.
In addition to TV shows, you are also a businesswoman in the gastronomy sector. How do you balance your professional activities with your participation in entertainment programs?
Well, how I reconcile things, I still joke and say that I’m lucky that I’m a woman, right? That we have a thousand and one uses. So, I take care of, you know, the company, my gastronomy side, I also help take care of my family’s businesses, in addition to being a mother and a housewife. That thing about us women. No, jokes aside, I’m quite agitated, I like a busy life. I don’t like standing still. So, I have a game that I play every day before going to sleep, so I mentally think about what I have to do with my day the next day. Sometimes I can, sometimes I can, sometimes I can’t. It ends up becoming a snowball. But I love this busy life. I think if I had to sit still or do just one thing, I wouldn’t be able to do it.
If you could share one important lesson you’ve learned throughout your career in cooking and television, what would it be?
Well, what I learned, both from gastronomy and from television, is that, like, you can’t judge people without getting to know them first. This is really cool because I know that I’m judged too and I still joke about it because I say, guys, several times in my life I’ve seen a person on television. Sorry. And then, when I met her in person, I saw that she was a completely different person. Both for the good side and the evil side. What happened is that I had idols who, when I met them, I found to be completely, I don’t know, blasé, arrogant, I don’t know, like the opposite. I don’t like certain people, I see them take certain actions on television and then, live, I discover that they are completely different people. And in gastronomy, what I learned on television, which is something that people don’t understand, on the program we are put under a lot of pressure on “Masterchef” and “Master Sabotage”. And sometimes people say, bro, why are you always so pressured in gastronomy? Because I learned that, bro, working in the kitchen is not for children. It really is a very crazy life, where you have to… You don’t have time to think, to stop, you have to make things happen very quickly. So that’s something I learned a lot from the program. Like, go and make it happen. When they explain it to us, a customer, in 40 minutes he wants his dish on the table. He doesn’t care if you have a headache, if you have a problem, if you’re missing a vegetable. He just wants his plate on the table. So in gastronomy I learned to work this way.
What are your future plans in gastronomy? Can we expect new projects or ventures?
Yes, the projects have a new project, right, which is what they have for today. Which is a project I had in the past, which is where I work. Making dinners at home, making frozen meals, that sort of thing. So I’m going to resume this project, I’m going to bring it back to where I’m going. Really now bringing back the part of chef events at home, the part of frozen soups and the part of frozen green juices too. So it’s a little project that I’m about to launch, and in about three months at most I think I’ll have it running.
For aspiring chefs and food entrepreneurs, what advice would you give based on your own professional journey?
The advice I give to anyone starting out is, like, don’t give up on your dreams. If you are sure that what you are producing is good, make it happen. I still joke and say, guys, you don’t need a lot of investment, because people don’t understand that sometimes you invest a lot of money and it takes time for you to get a return and then this ends up demotifying the person, demotifying is great, letting the person, you know , not motivated to continue, because she sees that she spends money, but does not get a return. Exactly because she ends up spending money and it takes time to get the return. So I say, don’t give up, if you’re sure that your project is cool, if you did some research and saw that in your city or in the region where you are, people need it, go for it, because People, it’s the best thing to take down. Now guys, encouraging yourself is the hardest part, so believe in yourself and go.
Follow Aritana Maroni on Instagram