Rio de Janeiro--Tickle your palate. Try some Amazonian ants with pineapple. Or how about some beetroot salad with curds? Brazilian gastronomic fare has far more to offer than the traditional staples of beans and rice with cassava.
So say the experts from the revered Michelin guide, who have edited their first Brazil edition covering the megacities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.
The guide reviews 145 restaurants, the first Michelin has ever selected in Latin America. A total of 16 boast one Michelin star -- 10 in business hub Sao Paulo and the other six in tourist mecca Rio.
Just one received the accolade of two stars -- chef Alex Atala's D.O.M. in Sao Paulo, known for its use of Amazonian ingredients such as the ants, which leave a surprising citric aftertaste in the mouth.
Such delicacies require a portly wallet with menu prices of between 242 and 825 reais ($80 to $270).
"As with all fine gastronomy, it's all about the product and in this country, there are fabulous products to be had -- fantastic freshwater fish, fantastic vegetables, meat of extraordinary quality," enthused American Michael Ellis, Michelin's international guides' director.
The guides were first published in France more than a century ago to promote automobile travel.
"The Brazil guide reflects the fact there is a future. I was here back in the '80s when Brazilian cuisine was beans, rice, farofa (cassava flour) and very, very cooked meat. The Brazilians love things well cooked.
"But things have moved on -- 25 years ago we didn't have what we have today," Ellis explained to a group of reporters.
Atala and other young chefs have traveled afar to discover new techniques, new ingredients and new spices that "give Brazil its own culinary signature," said Ellis.
AFP
