The Brazilian chef Ana Lucia Costa cooks in her modest home in the Rocinha favela in Rio de Janeiro to feed some 400 people a week, including families with children and the homeless. Costa is one of 52 solidarity kitchens in Brazil supported by Gastromotiva, an organization that trains disadvantaged people in culinary skills with the aim of not only feeding but also bringing pleasure and joy to those who need it most.
Costa, a 45-year-old black woman, wonders why the poor can’t eat well as she mixes meat with pasta and a tomato sauce spiced with oriental zaatar. Despite having few resources, she makes the most of everything at her disposal and uses the skins of beets, carrots, and lemons to make juice.
The lack of infrastructure does not stop Costa, who coordinates the distribution of the meals with the help of volunteers and a wide network of contacts in her neighborhood. The beneficiaries of her meals, like Anderson, a homeless man in the favela, are grateful and appreciate the heart Costa puts into his work.
In addition to being a way to help others, cooking is also therapy for Costa, who has worked as a member of the juvenile protection council in Rocinha and has witnessed lurid stories. Her work in the kitchen is also a livelihood for her, repaid with social aid.
Carlos Alberto da Silva, another supportive chef in the Chapeu Mangueira favela, uses gastronomy as a way to stay away from drugs and help his community. Da Silva and his team of volunteers prepare saffron and black sesame rice with vegetable panache for the needy in Lapa, in central Rio de Janeiro.
Despite the challenges, da Silva is not giving up and is seeking funding for his small restaurant on the sports field and aspires to enter a reputable French gastronomy school in Rio de Janeiro.