São Paulo – The city of Sultan Yacoub, Lebanon, can offer you a taste of Brazilian food. There, the 3 Chef cooperative makes snacks such as pastel (deep-fried stuffed pastry), coxinha (chicken-filled dough) and pães de queijo (cheese balls) sold at cafés, restaurants, supermarkets, parties, fairs and other events.
The cooperative was born of the partnership of three Brazilian women: Sawsan Saleh, Luzia Watanabe and Sana Kadri. It was formally registered with the Lebanese government in 2013, so that their work could be advertised.
“As a cooperative, we enjoy more benefits. We get free training, and the NGOs visit us and we’ll sell to them. Once you go official, your product gets looked upon a different way. When there are fairs or lectures, we get called up and the Ministry of Agriculture always gives us a little extra push,” says Saleh.
Currently comprising 12 members, all of them Brazilian, 3 Chef has its own cafeteria in the Lebanese International University’s Bekaa Valley campus, and a partner cafeteria in Ghaze, a city near Sultan Yacoub, that sells the cooperative’s snacks and churros (sweet, stuffed, deep-fried pastry). There are also 100 supermarkets carrying items by 3 Chef.
According to Sultan, coxinha is the top-selling snack, with 5,000 dozens made each week. At the university cafeteria, customers can also find Brazilian music and guaraná. “They have all you need to feel like you’re back in Brazil,” she says.
The cooperative also supplies supermarkets with Lebanese delicacies such as kibbeh, burak (cheese-filled puff pastry), and shishbarak (a dish consisting of small pasta balls cooked in natural yoghurt sauce).
Sultan says that this month, they plan to add potato bread to the menu. 3 Chef takes orders for snacks and sweets, including the traditional Brazilian brigadeiro, for events including parties, weddings and other celebrations.
The cooperative also hopes to broaden its reach and is looking for partners to open a new cafeteria in the national capita. “We’re open to whoever wants to open one in Beirut. We want to be present in the whole country,” says Sultan.
Contact info
3 Chef Cooperative
Website: www.facebook.com/3chefs/?ref=ts&fref=ts
Phone: 03 146118
Email: saosanshaheen@hotmail.com
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
