Viva Brasil

I had asked my mother to bring me one bag of yucca flour from Miami but received five bags of Brazilian farofa instead.  So naturally I was interested to read Seth Kugel’s New York Times article about how São Paulo’s chefs were finding inspiration in traditional ingredients writing:

…the idea that Brazilian cuisine can hold its own is slowly taking hold in São Paulo, thanks to a new generation of chefs looking outward for technique but inward for ingredients and tradition. Attuned to the necessities of presentation by their (mostly) European training and conscious that the heaviness of traditional Brazilian dishes will never pass muster with the gym-going elite, they have created a movement that has given their own nation a new sense of pride in its culinary heritage.

I also loved the way the article gave the final word to chef Alex Atala of D.O.M. and Dalva e Dito :

Since my visit, Mr. Atala has changed the menu, hand signing every one with a declaration that captures the changing nature of the city’s cuisine: “D.O.M. takes on its original vocation: to be Brazilian. I thus renounce the use of foie gras and truffles.”