Menu Offered by the Brazil-Canada Chamber of Commerce During Sial, the Country’s Largest Food Fair
By Silvia Pimentel
Who would have imagined that a relatively unknown Brazilian chef from the small village of Mangue Seco, in the far north of Bahia, would be invited to execute an eight-course menu in Montreal, Canada? The unlikely happened. And with the delicacy of her art, she won over Canadian palates and brought new business opportunities to Brazil.
At the invitation of the Chamber of Commerce Brazil-Canada (CCBC), Chef Camilla Guimarães, from Restaurante Na Cajazeira, was challenged to create and execute a menu based on Brazilian products exported to Canada: beef, açaí, Amazon nuts, cassava, tapioca, plant-based milks, and organic honey. Among the dishes presented, the highlight was the cupim do sol with açaí sauce accompanied by banana tartare. It’s worth noting that it’s very rare to find cupim in Canada. Even though there is Nelore cattle there, the hump from which this cut is taken is formed by grazing on mountainous terrain, which doesn’t occur in Canada. A specialized Brazilian beef cuts butcher in Quebec managed to import the cupim served at the “Saveurs Brésiliennes” (Brazilian Flavors) night led by the chef as part of the CCBC’s commercial mission program at Sial, the largest food fair in Canada, held once a year.
The dinner, led by Chef Camilla in partnership with Chef Lawrence Tomlinson, took place on May 14 at the “Jesuis Le Enfant Terrible” restaurant. The menu reflected the chefs’ diverse backgrounds: Camilla is from São Paulo, of Portuguese descent, and daughter of people from Sergipe. Lawrence, on the other hand, is Canadian with Jamaican heritage. Both have participated in reality shows in their countries. Lawrence became known in Canada for participating in “Chefs de bois,” a culinary competition in the forest that mixes cooking and survival. Chef Camilla was part of MasterChef 10 last year.
The Menu
The menu featured coconut rice cake with shrimp and acerola pepper jelly; beef fillet tataki with coffee ponzu, crystallized cocoa, and bracatinga honey; roasted avocado salad with Brazil nut emulsion; smoked eggplant puff pastry with fermented honey and nuts, tomato chutney, and cashew ricotta; cupim do sol with açaí beurre blanc sauce, couscous farofa, and banana tartare; macaxeira terrine with confit shrimp, acerola, moqueca sauce, and coconut yogurt; chocolate and nut choux cream; and açaí cannoli with Brazil nuts.
About Sial
Part of the event’s saga lies in the logistics. In addition to bringing the chef from the remote fishing village, the CCBC took all the ingredients and their commercial representatives to the international fair. The event took place from May 15 to 17, where Brazilian exhibitors presented a wide range of superfoods, demonstrating the country’s great production potential. From there, agreements and business deals were made between the two countries. One of Canada’s largest retailers, IGA Supermarket, got to know the products during the dinner conceived by Chef Camilla and offered by the Chamber of Commerce to Brazilian exporters and Canadian retailers.
Where to Find It
To keep no one in Brazil drooling, part of the menu can be enjoyed at the “Na Cajazeira” restaurant, owned by Chef Camilla Guimarães, located in Mangue Seco (BA). Getting there is a charming adventure. From the Linha Verde Highway, which crosses the touristy Coconut Coast, visitors should go to the village of Pontal, in Indiaroba (SE). From there, just take a boat to cross the Real River to the village of Mangue Seco. Once there, look for a cashew tree. The restaurant is in front of a beautiful cashew tree, in the centenary white house with blue windows where the character Perpétua lived in the 1989 soap opera “Tieta.”
