Address of haute cuisine in Sao Paulo, the Emiliano hotel is right in the sequence of dishes without animal products, conceived by chef Breno Berdu
Earlier this year, the award-winning restaurant Emilian, in Sao Paulo, he began to offer a new Vegetable menu which favors the ingredients of small producers. Entirely plant-based, the sequel created by the chef Breno Berdu it is a delight for the palate – and also an important symbol of a cultural change that has come to haute cuisine. “I have vegetarians and vegans in the hotel every day, without exception. Since I arrived I have worked on special and personalized menus. The idea of having a complete menu without restrictions for those who cannot eat cream, for example, is in so that no one feels like an alien because they can’t eat something. I do it out of responsibility “, says Breno, named chef of the year by the Comer & Beber edition of Veja São Paulo.
The traceability of ingredients, the reduction of the environmental impact and the enhancement of national and organic ingredients have always been flags of the restaurant and the chef. With the Vegetable Menu, on the other hand, the idea is to go one step further and present alternatives for healthier and more balanced habits. “Knowledge can lead a person to eat much better. Culturally we have a serious problem. We use the term ‘blend’ to talk about animal protein, as if we need it every day. By mixing rice with beans, we have access to nutrients we need, “says the chef.
Grandson of a rural producer and son of a baker, Bren he always took care of what he hands people to eat seriously. “Responsibility is the key that will turn in the minds of cooks. People have to look at the plate and think about their choices. With every plastic bag we pull off the shelf, we have to think about what we are eating and what chain we are feeding.” In practice, the chef argues that gradual changes and adaptations can be made. “I eat meat. But do we have to eat it every day? Does the pizza always have to be with peppers?”, He asks him. In managing the menu, he is concerned with finding suppliers who are attentive to animal welfare and the environment, also weighing the dishes that have more points of sale and those with more expensive ingredients, so that in the end the account closes.
When working with seasonal ingredients, the Vegetable menu is subject to change. “I can’t make the zucchini stay fixed, for example. I make our capers with fermented nasturtium seeds. When I don’t have it I use fermented gherkin. In preparation the zucchini are marinated with lemon, salt and citronette To give it a touch in addition I can use mustard seeds, in the selection of the leaves I have already used basil, clover, cabbage, sprouts … Nature seasons the dishes “, says the chef.
Among the best options, with an intense flavor, are the pumpkin cabotiá gnocchi. The vegetable protein comes from the ora pro nobis (a plant that can be eaten both raw and sauteed), with a flavor enhanced by the roti mushroom sauce.
Vegetable and seaweed gnocchi with mushroom roti: created by chef Breno Berdu for Emiliano’s menu
For the chef, his most emblematic dish are mushrooms and chestnuts. “There is an act of activism with this dish. When I started studying the Cerrado and the baru nut, I saw photos of the current, used in deforestation,” says Bren. The visual effect is accompanied by an almond delicacy on the palate. “Foreigners asked for the baru nut, because they knew it came from Brazil and many Brazilians do not yet know the potency of this ingredient.
Still among the favorite dishes of foreigners and Brazilians is the heart of palm, present in the form of spaghetti alla moqueca (without seafood, of course). “I make a stew with lots of peppers, onions, leeks, ripe tomatoes. I sweat and bring that flavor, then blend it with coconut milk, vegetable broth and palm oil, until it reaches the point,” completes the chef.
For dessert, jimbelê is a corn curau made from almond milk, coconut milk and fresh corn, finished with guava confit in demerara sugar.
“Doing my part, as a cook and executive chef in a hotel the size of Emiliano, means being aware that at any moment I can influence other people and their decisions. It ranges from my relationship with the producer to my decision to add vegetables to the children’s dishes who sometimes only order steak and fries “, adds Breno Berdu. Making lighter, more balanced choices can, yes, be delicious.
Source: Terra
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