Rio Gastronomia offers dishes from all over the world in an epic scenery

The Wonderful City hosts from Aug 4^th thru 13^th the seventh edition of Rio Gastronomia, the largest event of the kind in Brazil. Inside the empty warehouses of Pier Maua, renovated for the 2016 Olympics, thousands of people will have cooking classes, have access to Rio’s state farmers products and taste dishes from some nice restaurantes and bars. And all that spiced with music.

Picture: Eduardo Uzal

Visitors will be able to buy tickets to receive cooking lessons from famous local chefs. Themes vary from the correct handling of greens, vegetables and fruits aimed at kids to original creations such as pumpkins cupcakes, brownies made of beans, a regional recipe named panelada, made with offals, or a duck rice.

Picture: Camille Garzon

Among participant restaurants there are those dedicated to snacks like Aconchego Carioca, Caso Do Sardo, with recipes from the Mediteranean Italian islands, sophisticated like the restaurante of fancy Copacabana Palace Hotel and also others from nearby cities.

Public can also have burgers, steaks, German food, sweets and ice creams on the food trucks parked in an open area in the Pier’s waterfront.

One of the most successful parts of the event is the fair where farm producers from Rio state go sell their goods. Coffees, heart of palm tree, salty and sweet canned food, honey and cheeses are some of the delicacies.

Spirits also have a say in the “party.” At least ten makers of cachaça (the sugar cane brandy that is a Brazilian trademark) will show their creations and there will be wine tastings, and lectures on wine, beer and gin, liquor that’s been gaining popularity among bartenders in Brazil recently.

There are some musical attractions that go from samba, Brazilian rock and a Dj to make people shake their bodies during a “feijoada” – the black beans and dried beef stew.

Tickets are R$ 25 (US$ 8) on Thursdays and Fridays and R$ 35 (US$ 11) on the weekends and can be bought online. Restaurants will have smaller versions of their regular menus and a special dish at R$ 20 (US$ 6,30) – a bargain for Brazilian restaurants. It’s a nice place to go if you happens to be in Rio.