Travel agents and tour operators from the British tourism industry had a chance to find out a little about a selection of Brazilian states and their regional flavours
It was truly an event for eating with the eyes and filling up on happiness! With the aim of promoting and strengthening Brazilian gastronomy and attracting the interest of British tourists, Embratur (Brazilian Tourism Institute), through their UK branch Escritório Brasileiro de Turismo (Brazilian Tourism Office), supported the inaugural edition of the Brazilian Taste Gastroshow festival, 
in partnership with the Brazilian Embassy in London. The initiative has instantly become a great way of raising awareness about Brazil as a tourist destination.
Eight Brazilian chefs took part in the event, some of whom ply their trade in London, such as Flávio Amaral, from the state of Minas Gerais (who is the Brazilian Embassy’s resident chef); Junior Menezes, from Ceará, Luciana Berry, from Bahia (one of the contributors to the Gastronomy section of BBMag); Julio Ketteley, from Bahia; Lucianne Fraga, from Minas Gerais; and Aline Quina, from Mato Grosso. Flying over from Brazil there was the chef Fred Tibau, from Rio de Janeiro; Eudes Assis, from São Paulo and the master brewer José Honorato, from Rio. Also participating was Nicholas Corfe, who represents Brazilian wines in the UK and Rui Teixeira, the UK’s Cachaça representative.
The event enabled British travel agents and tour operators to get to know a bit about Brazilian states like Bahia, Ceará, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Pará, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina via the tastes and regional culinary facts passed on by the Chefs. During the event, before each individual demonstration, there was a short video and presentation of tourist destinations from the Executive of the UK Brazilian Tourism Office. In addition, the guests also had the chance to visit the “UNESCO World Heritage Cities in Brazil” exhibition, which was at the Embassy from 19 April to 11 May.
Fantastic reception – The event was organized entirely by the London based Brazilian chefs Flávio Amaral and Júnior Menezes, and included 15 workshops on cookery and traditional local products. There were many items available for sampling, such as; pão de queijo (cheesy bread), coxinha (fried chicken dough balls), tapioca, Brazilian coffee, sweets and desserts, fruits, cachaças, Brazilian wines (sparkling and still) and micro beers. “Brazilian gastronomy
is something which really contributes to Brazil’s desirability as a tourist destination. That’s why we are always trying to promote it to the world, and our taking part in Brazilian Taste was an excellent opportunity to get our message about Brazil’s culinary delights out there”, said Rafael Felismino, coordinator-general of Embratur’s Tourism Segments.
In a similar vein to Felismino, the chef Junior Menezes, a member of the UK Chef’s Association, was celebrating his participation in the event before it had even begun. As was Flávio Amaral, the Embassy of Brazil in London’s Head Chef, who is known for his combinations of seasonings from his native state’s (Minas Gerais) cooking, and pointed out that the Rio 2016 Olympics will be a “unique opportunity for people to try the incredible diversity of flavours which all contribute to making Brazilian cooking so exciting”.
Further information: https://www.facebook.com/braziliantastegastroshow/?fref=ts
The Workshops
The regional and themed workshops were: “A Cozinha mineira e suas maravilhas” (Minas Gerais’ Cuisine and its Wonders), presented by the chef Lucianne Fraga (Menu: Chicken with Okra, Feijão Tropeiro – Beans with Bacon and Rice – and for dessert doce de leite com queijo de minas – Dulce de Leche with Regional Cheese);
“A Cozinha do Pará e seus mistérios” (Pará’s Cuisine and its Mysteries), presented by the chef Fred Tibau, from Globo’s TV show Cozinhando com as Estrelas (Cooking with the Stars) (Menu: Tapioca recipes);
“A influência da cozinha africana na gastronomia brasileira / cozinha baiana” (African Cuisine’s influence on the cooking of Bahia and Brazilian Gastronomy in general), by the chef Luciana Berry, from “Catering on the Hill London” (Menu: Moqueca de frutos do mar – Fruits de mer Stew); “Sobremesas brasileiras” (Brazilian Desserts), with the chef Julio Ketteley (Menu: brigadeiro – Chocolate fudge, bolo de rolo – Cake Roll, Passion fruit cake with coconut and cashew nut praline, beiju de tapioca com baba de moça – Tapioca pudding with coconut syrup, Passion fruit mousse with Vanilla bean and clove sauce); “A Cozinha do Rio Grande do Sul” (The Cuisine of Rio Grande do Sul state) (Menu: Picanha – Top Sirloin), presented by the chef Aline Quina, from the restaurant Balaio London; the chef Flávio Amaral (Head Chef at the Embassy of Brazil in London) presented “A cozinha do Rio de Janeiro” (The Cuisine of Rio de Janeiro) (Menu: Feijoada e bolinho de bacalhau com batata baroa – Bean Stew and Codcakes with Baroa potatoes);
The chef Junior Menezes, from the caterer of Finotaste London, presented the workshop “A cozinha nordestina / Cearense” (Brazilian North-eastern Cuisine / Cuisine from Ceará) (Menu: Baião de dois e carne de sol – Rice, Bean & Meat dish and Dried Salted Beef); “A cozinha caiçara” (Caiçara Cuisine) (Caiçara is the name given to the traditional peoples dwelling in coastal regions of the South and South east of Brazil), presented by the chef Eudes Assis, from São Sebastião, São Paulo, of the Restaurant Taioba, and a volunteer with the Buscapé Social Project (Menu: Bolinho de taioba – Fried Taro Cakes, arroz lambe-lambe de mariscos – Seafood Rice, peixe azul marinho – Navy blue Fish Stew).
In addition to the culinary workshops, there were workshops for Brazilian drinks, and other products: “Introdução à cerveja artesanal brasileira” (An Introduction to Brazilian Micro Beers), by the Master Brewer José Honorato; “Introdução aos Vinhos brasileiros” (An Introduction to Brazilian Wines), from Go Wines Brazil’s English representative, Nicholas Corfe; “Introdução à mais famosa bebida brasileira – a Cachaça” (An Introduction to Brazil’s most famous drink – Cachaça), presented by Leblon Cachaça’s London Ambassador, Rui Teixeira; as well as a workshop about Açaí, a South American berry, presented by Gaya Foods’ representative Gabriel Gaya; and finally “Compra online de produtos brasileiros no Reino Unido” (Purchasing Brazilian products online from the UK), from ProdutosBrasileiros.co.uk’s representative.
