José Manuel Bento dos Santos (born 1947) is a Portuguese cook, gastronomer, businessman, trader, metals broker, writer and chemical engineer.
He started his professional career as an employee of Companhia União Fabril (CUF), the largest Portuguese business conglomerate before the Carnation Revolution in 1974.
Bento dos Santos studied also economics at the Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão of the Technical University of Lisbon, but he did not graduate.
In the 2000s, Bento dos Santos became popular due to his cuisine progames O Sentido do Gosto (2007) on the Portuguese television RTP[5][6] and Segredos do Vinho (SIC, 2004).
He also published a book of cuisine with the title O Sentido do Gosto[7] as well as Subtilezas Gastronómicas – receitas à volta de um vinho (Assírio & Alvim, 2005).