Chef Bruno Fonseca, a Brazilian native who has called Orlando home for nearly three decades, is redefining the city’s culinary landscape. Born in Rio de Janeiro and raised in a vibrant, multicultural household with Brazilian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian roots, Fonseca’s love for cooking was inspired early on by his family’s nightly dinners and formative experiences in fine dining.
Chef Fonseca honed his craft in renowned kitchens including Norman’s and Bern’s Steak House, later returning to Le Cordon Bleu as an instructor. However, it was his bold, personal concept—The Foreigner Experience—that truly set him apart. This pop-up dinner series embraced a “menu-confiance” philosophy, meaning guests placed their trust entirely in the chef’s vision, enjoying meticulously crafted tasting menus without a fixed script.
The experience’s success inspired Fonseca to open Foreigner Restaurant in Audubon Park in 2023, a permanent home for his innovative, multi-course, chef’s-table format. The restaurant showcases “American food through the eyes of a foreigner,” highlighting seasonal produce, local seafood, and artistic plating, all served in an intimate, open-kitchen space where guests can watch the culinary story unfold.
Signature touches include rotating dishes such as oysters with caviar, black-sourdough bread with umami-packed black butter, hay-smoked duck, and lamb two way—each beautifully paired with wines selected by Brett Ware, their in?house sommelier from French Champagne to Portuguese Madeira—creating a globally inspired culinary journey.
Alongside Foreigner, Fonseca launched Bruno’s Oysters, a casual oyster bar nestled in Winter Garden’s Plant Street Market. The contrast is intentional: no reservations, no pretense—just simple, high-quality seafood and a relaxed atmosphere that echoes his deep respect for fresh ingredients and genuine connections. We interviewed Chef Fonseca about his background and Foreigner Restaurant via e-mail – read on!
Tell us about your background and experience highlights.
I am originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but I am proud to say that my family and I have been residents in the central Florida area for a very long time. Through much hard work, luck and discipline I have been cooking for over 20 years under/with/for some incredible individuals. People like Norman Van Aken, Clay Miller, Master Chef Jack Shoope, Master Chef Klaus Friederich, to name a few.
Tell us what inspired you to become a chef?
The process of nourish, taking care of others, and the development of foods as a component onto something entirely different as a final product, coupled with a mission and creativity. Also at an early age, my family and I would go to restaurants often as celebratory and honestly experimental moments.
For those who have never been before, how would you describe the Foreigner Experience to them. Tell us about the name.
The inspiration to do this is to offer a better product to the public on a multi course format, and tell the story of food through a foreigner’s perspective on food, let it be the food that I grew up eating in my house (multicultural house-Brazilian food, Portuguese, Italian etc…), the food that I encountered when I moved to the US, and the food that I grew up cooking in the different kitchens here in the US. It is not fusion as different dishes have one underlying direction.
Foreigner Restaurant
Address: 2816 Corrine Dr, Orlando, FL 32803
Phone: (321) 517-6985Reservations: https://www.foreignerrestaurant.com/new-rsvp
Plus GIVEAWAY contest on Instagram! Win an Intimate Culinary Experience for Two (2 for 1)
To celebrate the summer season, we’re doing 2 for 1 at Foreigner Restaurant—an 11 course dining ($195 value) experience curated by our passionate team. They will treat ONE person out of a party of two for the dinner portion. Alcohol/mocktails not included.? https://www.instagram.com/p/DLGyOQTtXer/
