São Paulo – Created by the Refugee Reintegration Institute (Adus), the Sabores & Lembranças (loosely translated as Flavors & Memories) project, which holds culinary workshops with refugee chefs in Brazil, will have a new stage in 2024, focusing on the cuisine of African chefs supported by the NGO. And, for the third time, the project will culminate in the publication of a recipe book, which is expected to occur in June (pictured above, one of the recipes from the book prepared by Syrian chef Salsabil Matouk).
According to Marcelo Haydu, one of the founders of the Adus Institute, the Flavors & Memories project emerged informally ten years ago with sporadic gastronomy workshops presented by refugees assisted by the NGO. In 2022, Adus decided to “take a step further,” said Haydu, by applying to government programs such as the Federal Culture Incentive Law (also known as “Rouanet Law”) and the São Paulo state’s Cultural Action Program (ProAC).
With these incentives, the NGO raised funds from companies and expanded the initiative to present and teach recipes typical from the refugees’ countries to a broad audience through the craft of cooking and the recovery of their memories. In the workshops, chefs prepare the dishes, present the ingredients, and remember the history and importance of that recipe in their lives. It is not uncommon, said Haydu, for the public to interact and share gastronomic experiences and variations of the same recipe with the chefs.
“We seek to achieve some objectives with this project. Firstly, a broader objective related to all the cultural actions that Adus carries out is to generate income for immigrants. Many people depend on these gastronomic and other cultural activities to obtain income,” said Haydu, who also mentioned other goals, such as giving visibility to the work of refugees and connecting immigrants and Brazilians through cultural exchange.
One of the project activities this year was cooking workshops led by refugee chefs over three weekends in two daily sessions. The conclusion of the project was the publishing of the books. The first features recipes from four foreign chefs and four Brazilian chefs who sponsored them: Bel Coelho, Bela Gil, Helena Rizzo, and Ieda de Matos.
In June, the recipes gained even more space with the publication of a book with 20 recipes from ten chefs, all refugees. Each professional presented four savory and four sweet recipes for publication, the necessary ingredients, and how to prepare them. Finally, two recipes from each one were published – one savory and the other sweet. Chefs from Colombia, Togo, Nigeria, Uganda, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Arab countries Morocco, represented by Abdellatif Elmekaoui, and Syria, with chef Salsabil Matouk, participated in this publication.
The Flavors & Memories Africa project has already been approved for 2024, comprised only of chefs from the continent, and it will also result in the publication of a physical book. These publications, however, do not reach bookstores. Part of the copies are donated to libraries and public institutions in return for revenue via incentive laws. Another portion is passed on to the companies financing the project, and the remaining copies are donated by Adus and the chefs to institutional partners.
“All of our actions have the sole and primary purpose of autonomy and generating income. For this, we take care of all the regulatory aspects and personal documents. These people need to have a good level of Portuguese. And to close this cycle that begins with documentation and Portuguese classes, we try to make it possible for people to obtain income,” said Haydu.
Quick facts:
Check out the book Sabores e Lembranças in Portuguese, with savory and sweet recipes from ten chefs here
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
