The way food is served and the ingredients used in its preparation tell a lot about a people. Getting to know Brazilian culture through its street food is the proposal of the Street Gastronomy project. Crafted by the hands of flavor artisans, the food served on sidewalks, squares, parks, beaches, and markets in thousands of cities across Brazil carries a part of our history. Among the project’s objectives are: a) to value the cultural heritage that is Brazilian popular gastronomy; b) to map and give visibility to itinerant chefs who produce quality food, granting a seal that serves as a reference for the public; c) to improve the quality and safety of food and services offered by itinerants in several capitals of the country through training and formalization; d) to promote itinerant chefs by including them in the gastronomic touristic route of participating cities.

The project began with a short film that was produced with the award obtained at the 11th Screenplay Contest by RioFilme, where the argument of “In the Mouth of the People” (2010) was awarded. From the realization of this film, the project developed naturally and organically, mainly because there was a genuine interest from the participants for it to expand, but also because some organs, foundations, and companies recognized its importance in the various aspects it addresses.

The project held two major events which, combined, gathered an audience of over 20 thousand people. The first, Rio Street Gastronomy Festival in 2014, had the support of Riotur and partnership with Extra/O Globo. This event brought together 22 itinerant chefs at Terreirão do Samba who served their wonderful delicacies, delighting the public. The second event – “Celebrate Street Gastronomy” – took place at the pilotis of the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro and opened the cultural program of Rio 2016, offering the public quality popular food, as well as music and art.
To participate in the events, the project’s itinerants took part in entrepreneurship courses by SEBRAE and SENAC, as well as classes on “Safe Food Handling” conducted by the Rio de Janeiro Health Surveillance team.

In partnership with Abbas Filmes, the project produced the series “In the Mouth of the People,” which is now in its second season. The series was filmed in 12 Brazilian cities from different regions, portraying more than 80 itinerant chefs. In the episodes, we get to know who these flavor artisans are, how they learned to prepare the food they sell, the innovations they introduced in the recipe, the story behind the choice of a certain food, and other peculiarities of their lives.