THE relationship with food goes far beyond just eating . It carries affection, memory and, especially, the feeling of unity. It is often a meal that brings together the family or unites friends around the table.
With that in mind, we asked chefs and restaurant owners: “What is your greatest gastronomic longing? Which dish, when you come to your mind, makes you salivate? ” As might be expected, the simplest dishes dominate the answers, which mix with travel and memories of dear people. And you, What is your gastronomic longing?
For the chef GUSTAVO RODRIGUES ahead of the Sororoca Bar and Lobozó, in Sao Paulo, his greatest longing is linked to his grandfather, Bruno, who died when Gustavo was still a teenager. “He was one of those responsible for my creation in a farm in Parelheiros and was very fond of cooking. Every weekend, he prepared a Simple but delicious sandwich: French bread, ham and pepper . The whole family gathered, and he made a point of using a snack bar that he bought just to prepare these snacks for everyone. I never ate the sandwich like that and in that special ritual. But every once in a while, I improvise at home and do this sandwich, more to kill him more than his own snack. ”
To Thiago Brown Sororoca Bar, in São Paulo, and the renowned remanso do Peixe, in Belém, the most beloved gastronomic memories are linked to Travels that made to the grandparents’ house in the fields as a child.
The chef says that his grandparents lived and lived ‘from the fields’ in Bragança (PA), 200 km from Belém, and that the eating was already starting on the way, with stops to taste Pamonha and Tapioca in places along the road. “I clearly remember the memories of the trips to spend the weekend or when I went on vacation to spend the month of July. Getting there, they cooked what they had at the moment: redneck chicken, duck, jabuti… and they made Quintal chestnut paçoca with water flour on the wooden pests… my most homesick memories are one of those moments, helping my grandfather in this. ”
Thiago completes: “From time to time, I can kill this longing and reconnect: I feel that I have a foot on the beach, because my childhood was well immersed in the interior/coast of Pará. Every time this meeting goes, I feel at home . The connection to the sea, the opportunity to eat fish only with flour, pepper and lemon… This sounds like something I want to eternalize and take my daughter to live too. ”
Leaving northern Brazil and going to Italy, the chef Sandro Giovannone Italian based in Brazil and owner of Maturameat, says that his greatest longing, of course, refers to his country. “As a good Italian, my greatest longing comes from my land and is the Tiella, a typical Gaeta delicacy coastal city of Lazio, where I lived. It’s a kind of salty pie, and the most classic taste is octopus, just that gives me mouth water just to think! ”
Sandro has a deep connection with the sea, so much so that he has tattooed an octopus, a brunette and a crab. He learned to dive with his father at age 8 and, in his teens, would fish and sold everything that the sea offered him – except when the tide brought octopus, he would take home and ask his mother to prepare at Tiella. “To this day, it’s the first thing she does when I arrive in Italy,” says the chef.
Bia Limoni, Chef of the trendy folder shihoma and a partner of Shihoma Deli, both in São Paulo, does not have a specific dish that refers to longing, but remembers with love and mouth watering when she was a child and left the school dreaming of lunch, that would be served in your home. “Home food, made by my mother and my grandmother . Nothing specific, but, as a good daughter of a family in the interior of Sao Paulo, I knew that, no matter what it was, it would always be that fresh, homemade food, which welcomes. Nothing supergastronomic, but always food you hug. ”
Márcio Shihomatsu who commands Shihoma and Shihoma deli alongside Bia, misses the bent (Traditional meal of Japanese cuisine, usually served in a compact, practical and well organized box, with portions of different dishes) of your grandmother. “We were going to visit my maternal grandmother in Tupã, and it was six hours of car travel! On the way back, she was preparing a ‘bentoão’ with Oniguiri with Furikake, breaded bifinho, tofu, preserves, fried sausage in the pastry dough… we stopped at any gas station and ate in the car. My grandmother’s spice was very soft and all she did was tasty. I still remember her beans today: it was just beans and garlic, but she did it in a way I still remember the taste. I ate a ton of beans and Gohan. Nothing more. The Japanese is very closed and demonstrates a lot of affection for the food. And, reviewing now, This bell that she did for us, it was a lot: affection. I cried when remembering this now. ”
Joey Lim which is also part of the Shihoma Deli team and the Shihoma Pasta, says that his longing comes from far away, from the mountains of Korea, where he passed the summers when he was younger next to his grandparents. “I ate an eclectic variety of fermented delicacies, from eggplants to dry fish, prepared by my grandparents . I never found anything that came close to that flavor. Something I miss so much, ”adds the chef.
Already for Bruna Martins of the Birosca, Forest and Gata restaurants in Belo Horizonte, as a good miner, his longing is attached to the wood oven. “My great longing is when the whole family went to the site: grandparents, uncles, cousins… and we spent all day there, around the wood stove . In the morning we had the mission to go to ‘pick up’ things in the garden; In the afternoon, we did dulce de leche, and in the late afternoon, my grandmother was already starting to prepare a cassava broth. Literally, we stayed all day at this family meeting around the wood stove, ”says the young chef.
George Koshoji, Kosushi chef and owner-owner, miss the time when he lived in Japan to perfect herself in the art of sushi. There he lived with his aunt in the house that had been his grandfather, where his father was born, and had a memorable backyard. “I remember that, in the backyard, there were several fish, such as horses and sardines, drying in the sun. One day I asked my aunt if I could try it. At dinner, she reached some of these Coal delicacies and, as an accompaniment, served ochozuke (white rice) and umeboshi (tanned plum in salt) . All this watered with tea. I didn’t think that flavor would mark me so much! ”Says the chef.
To Dudu Strumpf Ahead of the Strumpf Sauces brand, a simple fruit salad marked its childhood. That’s because, when he was young, he spent all his holidays in a camp, immersed between play and sports with friends. At the time of dessert, served in large bowls, came the long awaited fruit salad soaked in a thick broth that gathered the juices of the fruits and a generous dose of artificial currant. “For us, that was gold. Such was the devotion through the fruit salad that it became even bargaining currency in our ping-pong and pebolim disputes during the spare time, ”says the businessman. “If I win, you give me your fruit salad for lunch! Today, looking back, I realize that it was not just the taste of the fruit salad that made it special. It was the context, the moment, the genuine hunger after an intense day of play and the pure happiness of a lot of kids competing to get another portion of that simple but unforgettable mix ” finishes Dudu.
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The Post Saudade at the table: The dishes that marked the life of chefs appeared first on cnn Brazil V&G.
Source: CNN Brasil
Johanna Foster is an expert opinion writer with over 7 years of experience. She has a reputation for delivering insightful and thought-provoking articles on a variety of subjects. Her work can be found on some of the top online news websites, and she is currently lending her voice to the world stock market.
