Chef Machado dishes on the food fueling the World Cup

More people of Lebanese descent live in Brazil than in Lebanon, as many as 7 million. As is the case wherever Lebanese plant new roots, so grows the affinity for its food traditions.

Walk into the airport terminal in Rio de Janeiro and the first edible you’re likely to find is a sfeeha meat pie or a platter of baked kibbeh, says Brazilian chef Paulo Machado. But while the South American country has adopted Lebanese dishes as part of its national cuisine, there is scant evidence of the reverse influence; Brazilian food is unknown here.

Machado travels the world educating people in different cities about the diversity of Brazilian cuisine. He and his bread-making friend chef Erik Nako were in Beirut this spring as part of a series of cooking events that sought to educate locals about a culinary heritage all but obscure in these parts.

The World Cup has certainly helped Machado’s cause to raise his home cuisine’s international standing, as writers and foodies are now seeking out the food fueling the world’s most-watched sporting event. Speaking from his home base in Campo Grande, Machado gave The Daily Star a rundown of what the millions of fans flocking to the country are gobbling up besides sports.

TDS: Because we’re narcissistic, start by telling us about the influence of the Lebanese?

Machado: First of all, I’m from Brazil in the center-west. And I’m from an area of Brazil that has a lot of Lebanese influence. I was born in a city called Campo Grande in Patanal and over there, we have a big influence from Lebanese culture.

TDS: Are there Lebanese dishes that have become adopted as national Brazilian cuisine?

Machado: We eat a lot of sfeeha and kibbeh. Some of them are very good, some of them are not [laughs]. Tabbouleh is the most popular salad in Brazil but is originally from Lebanon. I had a teacher from Lebanon who taught me Arabic food, and he used to tell me, ‘Paulo, when you do tabbouleh, you don’t just use so much grain.’ Tabbouleh is a parsley salad, not a burghul salad. Typically in Brazil, we use a lot of grain and just a little bit of parsley.

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Chef Machado dishes on the food fueling the World Cup