Business · Companies · 21 hrs ago
Chefs discuss how migration shaped São Paulo’s food
At the Folha Gourmet Festival in São Paulo, chefs and food writers discussed the city’s diverse cuisine on Sunday.
The panel included French chef Olivier Anquier, Haitian chef Pierre Schrage, social entrepreneur Thiago Vinícius and author Xavier Bartaburu.
Their discussion focused on how immigrants and people from other parts of Brazil shaped local food.
Bartaburu said São Paulo does not have one defining traditional dish because its cooking blends Indigenous, African, rural, northeastern and immigrant influences.
Vinícius said many of the city’s food traditions thrive in its peripheral neighborhoods, including Campo Limpo in the south.
Schrage also spoke about making restaurants welcoming to staff as well as customers.
The festival continues on November 14 and 15, with talks on food tourism and appearances by chefs including Elisa Fernandes, Luiz Filipe Souza and Alex Atala.
A panel at the Folha Gourmet Festival discussed how migration and other cultural influences shaped São Paulo’s food.
Chef Olivier Anquier, social entrepreneur Thiago Vinícius, chef Pierre Schrage and author Xavier Bartaburu took part.
Bartaburu said São Paulo’s cuisine blends influences rather than fitting into a single national or regional tradition.
Vinícius said food businesses in the city’s outskirts reflect the diversity of cuisines found there.
Schrage spoke about making restaurants welcoming to workers as well as customers.
- Who
- Chef Olivier Anquier, social entrepreneur Thiago Vinícius, chef Pierre Schrage and author Xavier Bartaburu took part.
- What
- They discussed São Paulo’s food and the influence of immigrants and other cultural groups.
- When
- Sunday, November 8, 2026.
- Where
- The Folha Gourmet Festival in São Paulo.
- Why
- The panel examined the city’s gastronomic diversity and how outside influences transformed its food.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Folha Gourmet Festival held a panel on how São Paulo eats the world.
The festival was scheduled to continue with talks including one on gastronomic tourism.
The festival was scheduled to continue, with Alex Atala among the speakers.
- Festival
- Folha Gourmet Festival
- Panel
- Como São Paulo come o mundo
- Participants
- Olivier Anquier, Thiago Vinícius, Pierre Schrage and Xavier Bartaburu
- Thiago Vinícius’s project
- Organicamente Rango, in Campo Limpo
- Bartaburu’s book
- Como São Paulo Come
What people are saying
The great discovery was understanding that there is no Italian, Japanese or Arab food [in São Paulo]; what exists is Italian-Paulista, Japanese-Paulista, Arab-Paulista food. São Paulo has this somewhat voracious hunger to devour and transform everything.
The world’s cuisines are in the outskirts.
When I arrived, I was French, but thirty years ago I became a Brazilian of French origin.
I thought I could do this with the kitchen too, with the people who work with us, who are behind the scenes. When I had the opportunity to open my kitchen, I wanted to create a culture in which everyone comes in and feels restored.