Inside the wonderful world of Brazilian cuisine with chef Manu Buffara

Chef and social activist Manu Buffara is a woman on a mission – to help people reconnect with food. After training at Nobu in Copenhagen, the Brazilian-born creative set up her own restaurant, Manu, in her hometown of Curitiba. More than a decade on, and her work is credited with putting Curitiban cuisine on the map, with an inventive tasting menu that is 60% plant-based and 80% sourced from local suppliers. 

“I truly believe that you can make restaurants into a social concept,” Manu, who was named Latin America’s Best Female Chef in 2022, tells Flash Pack. “So you can bring the community in to work alongside you. I’m proud of where I come from, and it’s important for my cooking to connect with my roots. My goal is to help local producers – for example fishermen – develop a better life while providing inspiration for people across Curitiba and Brazil itself.”

Manu’s vision of food as a tool of social change has seen her influence extend far beyond the kitchen. Having launched her own foundation in 2018, she is involved in a wide range of community initiatives – from protecting native Brazilian bees, to empowering women in the bread-selling business and transforming vacant lots around Curitiba into homegrown veg gardens. 

“When you develop a profile like I have, you are given a stage – and I believe in always using that microphone to the wider world,” says Manu, who is the first female chef in Brazil to launch a tasting menu restaurant. 

It’s important for my cooking to connect with my roots

“Food is about love and soul but it’s also about power. We have the ability to educate people on the importance of fresh, natural ingredients and traditional techniques in areas such as fishing and agriculture. We can show women how to use produce to become leaders in business, or local residents how to connect again with nature, and what it is that they’re eating.”

Part of this effort involves spreading the word on Brazil’s native stingless bees; around 50 species of which can be found around the Curitiba state of Paraná. Manu refers to the honey they produce as a kind of “caviar” – a prized, unique ingredient that stars in many of her restaurant creations. 

“The honey produced by small Brazilian bees is just incredible to work with; it comes in so many different varieties,” she says. “We have sour honey, sweet honey, honey with more acidity; the options are endless. We serve it with dishes like raw scallops with tucupi [an indigenous ingredient made from fermented cassava], or with raw oysters and sour cream. We also use local honey in salads, and to ferment our kombuchas.”

Other classic ingredients on show at Manu’s restaurant include Curitiban seafood – “we’ve known the fishermen who provide us with oysters, mussels, shells and shrimps for years,” says Manu – plus Amazonian tucupi juice. Palm hearts are another versatile favorite that the kitchen team use to ferment with coconut, or serve grilled on the barbeque until they’re slightly smoky with sauce on top.

“We started moving towards plant-based cuisine in quite an organic way,” Manu explains. “Around four years ago, we started reducing meat on our menu, instead using just lamb sourced from my family land [Manu’s father is a farmer]. And I began to realize that working with vegetables is an invitation to think outside the box. 

The honey produced by Brazilian bees is incredible to work with

“For example, our tasting menu at Manu is completed by a simple vegan carrot dish, served with levain and fermented cassava flour. Time and again, guests tell us that it’s their favorite course; it really stays on their minds. I love the connection that exists there. The carrot is not just something to eat; it also carries a message that we can produce amazing flavors and textures from local veg.”

Of course, this ability is helped by the huge diversity of influences that appear as the bedrock of Brazilian cuisine. The southern city of Curitiba alone is home to a mass of culinary ideas born from its immigrant population – spanning communities from Japan, Germany, Portugal, Syria, Poland and more.

“When people arrived in Brazil across the ages, the only thing that connected them to their country of origin was food,” Manu, herself from Italian and Lebanese ancestry, explains. “Immigrants tried to use Brazilian ingredients in their own traditional recipes, for a taste of home somewhere new. That gave rise to a wave of culinary creativity, full of memories created by immigrants from around the world.”

Travelers to Brazil are thereby treated to a mass of global and regional dishes, many of which change subtly state by state. Traditional fish stews such as Caldeirada and Moqueca, for example, can vary depending on regional flavors and techniques. 

Perhaps the best way for visitors to get a taste of true Brazil, however, is by joining a family meal. During weekdays, this might look like “rice, beans and a lot of vegetables with grilled fish or chicken – plus a fruity salad with something like mango in it,” says Manu. 

However, at weekends, things get more expansive, as loved ones gather for a full-day grill with traditional sharing dishes. “Sunday is a great day for us here in Curitiba,” says Manu. “My husband will cook a whole fish on the barbeque (other people might do lamb), while I prepare sides of coconut rice, banana farofa (grilled banana with cassava flours) and salads with vinaigrette. I’ll do some vegetables, too; I love broccoli covered in basil sauce.” 

Food is about love and soul but it’s also about power

Meanwhile, over in her restaurant, Manu continues to experiment with the boundaries of a standout tasting experience, including pairings with organic and natural wines. Right now, she’s working on a restaurant launch in New York; but her ultimate aim is to take local Brazilian food global. “I would love to expand the Manu approach to diners all over the world,” she says. “I want to showcase how we as a nation can innovate, and work in a way that puts the community first.” 

Manu Buffara is a chef, sustainability campaigner and founder of Restaurante Manu in Curitiba, Brazil.

Want to know more about the culture and flavors of Brazil? Come join Flash Pack in a country of sunshine and contrasts, from the highlights of Rio, Paraty and the Pantanal to adventures in the shadow of the mighty Iguazú Falls.