Cork Food, With a Brazilian Twist

The way he passionately defends his Beamish, his seafood chowder and chatting to the sellers in the English Market about their local produce, you'd swear he was a born and bred Corkonian. Even his speech is tinged with Cork-isms and a local lilt.

In actual fact, Bruno Bortolotti is a chef from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Cork is his adopted home, and he has made it his mission to show newcomers the hidden gems of Irish cuisine.

The Spirit of Cooking

Bruno is quickly becoming an underground sensation on Facebook and YouTube with his Facebook page and videos entitled “What to Eat?”

“Cooking is the same as having a pint,” he claims. It should be fun. His ethos is all about having the banter and socialising while cooking. This, he explains, comes from the way people view food in Brazil. On Sundays, the whole extended family gets together, cooks together, washes up together and it becomes part of their life.

A Brazilian Man In 'Food Cork'

As a local chef, he first decided to reach out to others on Facebook when he discovered that students coming to the city didn't know how to feed themselves nutritious meals.

“When I arrived,” he says, “I could never understand the Irish culture of food.” Being a chef, of course, he was determined to learn our secrets.

He goes on to explain, however, that we don't necessarily make it easy. We are not really proud of our own dishes. Most of our restaurants serve only international meals, and for Brazilians who have just touched down it can be hard to find Irish food at a competitive price. They can end up buying cheap ready-meals in their nearest supermarket and often fail to discover the tricks that Irish people have developed to keep a balanced diet such as the classic “meat, mash and two veg”.

Bruno set out to change that by giving students advice and classes, letting them know what ingredients they should buy, how to get the best deals, and what foods contain the best ingredients.

From Facebook Posts to YouTube Star

This was so successful that he started “What to Eat?”, a page where he began talking about all things “food” in Ireland, while ensuring that local students were able to feed themselves on a budget. He's all about promoting local Cork produce and Cork ingredients, and teaching people how to use those ingredients wisely and creatively.

Nowadays, his channel has evolved, and he's planning a new series of classes on Brazilian-Irish Fusion meals, as well as an expanded series of videos for his YouTube page.

He hopes to introduce Cork people to some more exotic dishes as well. One video in particular to watch out for is an exposé shot in Brazil with English subtitles which introduces people to the food of Sao Paulo.

So, What to Eat?

If you want to try some of Bruno's inspired Irish cuisine for yourself, you can catch his highly recommended Beef Cheeks Slow-Cooked in Beamish on Wednesdays at the Shelbourne, or his sandwiches a couple of Thursdays a month.

Can't get enough? Here's another person bringing a cool new idea to Cork!