Rediscovery of local ingredients earns Brazilian cuisine international recognition

Humble and hearty, traditional Brazilian food is far from the fastidious fare found in the haute cuisine kitchens of Paris or the experimental dishes of vanguardist chefs. Yet this week, six of the country’s chefs were honored at the World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards, hosted by San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna in London. 

Celebrating its 20th year, the list is compiled annually with votes from 1,080 culinary experts and is widely regarded as the foremost ranking in the realm of international gastronomy. 

Their 2022 list of the world’s 100 best restaurants now features Brazilian chefs Albert Landgraf of Oteque (47th), Alex Atala of D.O.M (53rd), Luiz Filipe Souza of Evvai (67th), Rafa Costa e Silva of Lasai (78th), and Helena Rizzo of Maní (96th). São Paulo’s A Casa do Porco took 7th place after it ranked 17th last year, placing a Brazilian establishment amongst the top 10 restaurants in the world.

The international recognition of Brazilian cuisine in recent years serves to legitimize an equally novel national appreciation for the country’s ingredients and cooking style. Only a decade ago, fine dining in Brazil was largely — if not exclusively — limited to domestic reinterpretations or imitations of foreign fare. 

A fancy dining affair in Brazil would typically be spent twirling Italian pasta upon a white tablecloth, or sampling sushi at a Japanese restaurant. National delicacies of feijoada, pato com tucupi, or moqueca were nowhere to be seen on respectable restaurant menus, largely being left to no-frills lunch spots or the home kitchen.

But, as the world was starved of simple and...