São Paulo – The dishes to be cooked by chef Ian Baiocchi will be the business card of the Halal do Brasil project during Gulfood, the Middle East’s biggest food exhibition that starts on Monday (19) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A partnership between the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil), the project foments the Brazilian presence of Brazilian halal goods in target markets. Halal means fit for Muslim consumption. Gulfood is one of the showcases of this initiative. (Pictured, opening of the event.)
On Tuesday (20), Baiocchi will give an open class at Al Mustaqbal Plaza, a Gulfood’s annex pavilion, where he will present a menu with a starter, a main course, and a dessert, with ingredients fit for Muslim consumption only. Therefore, the recipes don’t include pork and pork products and are only use halal-certified goods.
On Thursday (21), Baiocchi and chef Matthis Grosjean cook Brazilian and UAE dishes with halal ingredients only at restaurant FRNDS. The recipes will be served in the evening’s tasting menu. On Thursday (22), Baiocchi runs a churrasco at the Conrad Hotel in a networking event for Brazilian and Arab guests. He will also make poultry dishes at the stand of industry lobby ABPA.
ABCC International Projects manager Fernanda Dantas says that one of the goals of the project is to showcase how Brazil is a major supplier of halal goods. The country is one of the leading halal protein suppliers to Gulf states like the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, with brands that are industry leaders.
“We expect to showcase to both Arab firms and visitors at the exhibition how various are the halal products offered by Brazil. Positioning Brazil as a potential supplier of not only halal protein but other products, too. And to show the existence of this project, that Brazil is looking specifically at halal, has someone working specifically with it,” says Dantas.
Gulfood is held every year in Dubai. The biggest food and beverage exhibition in the region, it attracts clients not only from the UAE but from other Arab and Southeast Asian countries as well. This year’s edition ends on Friday (23) and features Brazilian companies that participate in the show in a stand organized by ApexBrasil.
Translation by Guilherme Miranda
