Brazilian chef Alex Atala has been named one of the most influential people of 2013, the only chef to make the Time 100 list this year.

In a write-up for Time magazine, friend and chef colleague René Redzepi describes the 44-year-old as a giant of chefs for his growing influence on Brazil’s culinary landscape, and for his efforts to preserve South America’s food heritage by using indigenous, Amazonian ingredients.

Atala’s Sao Paulo restaurant D.O.M. is currently ranked fourth on the World’s 50 Best Restaurant list.

Take a virtual tour of the chef’s work, and see why Time editors deemed him one of the most important artists of 2013.

A dish at D.O.M.

Chilled beetroot cream

D.O.M.

A look at one of the hottest tickets in Sao Paulo

A dish at D.O.M.

Palm heart fettuccini at D.O.M. Restaurant.

D.O.M. Restaurant

Inside D.O.M restaurant

Dessert at D.O.M.

Priprioca milk pudding with lime ravioli and ouro banana, a smaller, sweeter type of banana. Priprioca is a local root.

One of Atala’s signature dishes.

One of Atala’s signature dishes at D.O.M. is Pirarucu with tucupi, a type of white fish with the juice of a root.