BRAZIL: Community Feast

100 guests joined us for our Brazilian Feast in the East Yard of Folkestone Harbour Arm. We cooked a menu proposed by Brazilian artist Rubiane Maia and using local produce, after a demonstration in her own home. Custom collaborated once again with Dr Legumes and Docker Bakery. Alongside the food, we enjoyed Brazilian music from DJs Local Foreigner and Feral Child, and drank caipirinha cocktails.

The Menu included:
Moqueca Capixaba (Fish Stew)
Moqueca de Banana (Plantain Stew)
Pirão (Fish Purée)
Farofa (Cassava Flour Roasted)
Mousse de Maracujá – Passion Fruit Mousse

This event was PAY WHAT YOU FEEL. We asked for a deposit of £5, which could be ‘topped up’ on the day and all surplus on the ticket price, after ingredients costs were donated to Kent Refugee Action Network and the Rainforest Alliance. Custom Folkestone, Dr Legumes and Docker Bakery gave their time for free for these events.

About Brazilian Food, by Rubiane Maia:

Brazil is the largest country in South America, being the fifth largest in extension in the world (8,515,767,049 km²). The Brazilian territory is divided in 5 regions (North, South, Northeast, Southeast and Midwest), 27 states and 5,570 cities, towns and villages.

Brazilian cuisine is basically the result of a mixture of European, Indigenous and African ingredients. The daily diet consists of three main meals: normally coffee, milk, bread, fruits, cakes for breakfast; beans, rice, meat or fish and fresh or cooked vegetables for lunch and dinner. In Brazil, regional food is very varied from state to state, precisely because of its great length, which gives a huge diversity of ingredients and flavours. This diversity is directly linked to the origin of the population that inhabits each state. Therefore, regional food incorporates the history, geography, culture, social class and identity of each place.

‘Moqueca’ is one of the traditional dishes of Brazilian cuisine. It is a fish stew, prepared with tomatoes and different seasonings. There are two variants of Moqueca: the ‘Moqueca Baiana’ from the state of Bahia, located in the Northeast of Brazil and the ‘Moqueca Capixaba’ from the state of Espirito Santo in the Southeast. Both are local variations of original indigenous and African recipes. In Bahia the African influence predominates and the moqueca uses specific ingredients such as coconut milk and palm oil (made from a regional palm called “Dendezeiro”). In Espírito Santo, the indigenous influence predominates, and the moqueca is made with Urucum oil (produced from the seeds of a South American original tree). Served with side dishes such as white rice and “Pirão” that is a puree made with fish stock and cassava flour.

The “Moqueca Capixaba” is cooked in a special clay pot, which is an icon of the local culture. The clay pot is recognised as Intangible Heritage by the Institute of National Historical and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN).