In a campaign celebrating the food diversity of the Brazilian biome this holiday season, the Institute highlights local ingredients on restaurant menus, and customers receive a gift; check out the delicious options.
Three restaurants in the federal capital are participating in the campaign. Tropical CerradoThis initiative, promoted by the Institute for Society, Population and Nature (ISPN), aims to encourage the consumption of Cerrado foods produced or extracted by traditional communities and family farmers. The non-governmental organization is based in Brasília and has been working for over thirty years to conserve the biome. Between December 1st and 23rd, customers of Casa Baco, Authoral, and Le Parisien who order the "tropicana" option from the menu will receive a gift in return for their preference for Cerrado ingredients.
“We have known for some time that the Cerrado is a source of vitamins and minerals, but many consumers still don't have the habit of looking at these foods and incorporating them into their diet,” says Terena Peres de Castro, technical advisor at ISPN. The difficulty, she explains, has to do with how to access the food, often unavailable in traditional markets, and also with a lack of knowledge about how to use the products. “Consuming products derived from biodiversity is a conscious consumption because it plays an important role in environmental conservation, as these are foods produced with respect and involve local communities,” she emphasizes.
Cerrado à la carte
At participating restaurants, customers have access to regional flavors. At Casa Baco, the lunch option created by chef Gil Guimarães is sun-dried pork loin with canjiquinha (a type of cornmeal porridge) and cashew nuts from the Cerrado region (R$ 59); at Authoral, chef André Castro features babassu oil in his recipe for hake in a crust of Brazilian nuts, moqueca cream, purple sweet potato mousseline, and toasted corn vinaigrette (R$ 74); while at Le Parisien, chef Leandro Nunes pays homage to monkey pepper in his pirarucu (a type of fish) breaded with dark beer, tartar sauce, and potato chips (R$ 48).
For the chef at Authoral, it is the responsibility of Cerrado cooks to promote the consumption of local products within society. “This helps with health, considering the nutritional variety, in addition to contributing to the production chain involving small producers,” he states. His colleague Leandro Nunes agrees: “I hope the campaign can bring more attention to our biome, to help families who live from sustainable extraction.” Both, as well as chef Gil Guimarães, buy their products directly from Central do Cerrado or from local agro-extractivists and producers.
When customers sample one of these dishes, they take home a piece of the Cerrado to display in their home kitchens and remember the local socio-biodiversity: refrigerator magnets that pay homage to the babaçu coconut breakers and family farmers. Those who participate in the initiative also help strengthen the work of the NGO that supports local traditional communities.
The Cerrado is rich in food.
“By bringing some of these species to restaurant menus, we are valuing the biome and contributing to income generation and the maintenance of traditional ways of life,” says Ana Paula Jacques, researcher and professor of gastronomy at the Federal Institute of Brasília (IFB). “Gastronomy has proven to be an important ally in this process, and that is what the Cerrado Tropicano project wants to provide to the people of Brasília: the opportunity to discover the flavors of the Cerrado in original and creative preparations, as well as connecting with family farmers and agro-extractivists who collect, process, and benefit from these ingredients,” she adds, inviting people to put more Cerrado on their plates.
Brazilians and foreigners who experience the Cerrado, whether residents, tourists, or admirers, have much more at their disposal than just trails, waterfalls, and ipê trees. As the most biodiverse savanna in the world, with 30% of the national species, the Cerrado is the cradle of nutritious and healthy foods, collected and cultivated by family farmers and traditional communities, such as indigenous people, quilombola communities, and babaçu nut gatherers. Present in all regions, occupying 25% of Brazil, the biome is much more than the agricultural frontiers of monocultures. Food diversity is one of its most striking original characteristics.
Cerratinga
Another action of the campaign Tropical Cerrado the portal announces CerratingaThis website provides internet users with a list of producers and extractivists who supply native foods, such as Central do Cerrado itself. Interested consumers have access to what they sell and the channels for purchasing them, as well as recipe options that teach how to consume the foods in the best way. The website also offers nutritional details for each species and is available at www.cerratinga.org.br. By including native ingredients in their daily lives, consumers contribute to strengthening the local economy of peoples, traditional communities, and family farmers.
Service
Cerrado Tropicano Campaign
By December 23
Bacchus House (Casapark, Ground Floor)
Sun-dried pork loin with hominy grits and cashew nuts from the Cerrado region [served at lunch]
Authorial (CLS 302, Block A, Store 10)
Hake in a crust of Brazilian nuts, moqueca cream, purple sweet potato mousseline, and toasted corn vinaigrette in babassu oil.
Le Parisien (CLN 103 Block B Store 2)
Pirarucu fish breaded with dark beer, monkey pepper, tartar sauce, and potato chips.