As of December, anyone who wants to discover the Pantanal in the novel will have an extra reason to travel — nine hotels and inns and a winery in Mato Grosso do Sul will be integrated into a new gastronomic route.
The work of selecting typical recipes and proposing interventions that value local ingredients and seasonings is the responsibility of chef and researcher Paulo Machado, author of the book “Cozinha Pantaneira: Comitivas de Sabores” (Editora Bei) and one of the country’s leading authorities on the subject. .
Between July and August of this year, Paulo visited the establishments to meet the cooks personally, try the menus and, from each kitchen, select a recipe that will become a symbol of the place.
“The most interesting thing about this biome are the cultural differences. There are 11 different regions, and the recipes and ingredients change completely according to the hydrological, soil and vegetation characteristics. The route’s proposal is to show this diversity and invite tourists to discover different wetlands.” , explains the chef.
The gastronomic route, developed in partnership with Sebrae-MS and the Mato Grosso do Sul Tourism Foundation (Fundtur), will have its official launch on the 1stº December at Bioparque Pantanal, in Campo Grande, and will include different price ranges and visitor profiles.
There are simple accommodations, such as the Pousada Pioneiro, in Miranda, and sophisticated options such as the Hotel-Fazenda Baía das Pedras, in Aquidauana, which is very reminiscent of the scenarios of the TV Globo soap opera.
There, you can only get there by single-engine plane or 4×4 vehicle — the land journey from Campo Grande takes seven hours and is only accessible during the dry season, from May to December.
There is even a craft brewery on the route, Terroir Pantanal Wine & Beer, the first in Mato Grosso do Sul, which started to receive visitors in March 2022.
The dishes selected by Paulo Machado can be tasted in several ways, since practically all the establishments promote outdoor experiences. There will be a picnic, a culinary workshop, piranha broth to drink by the river, during a fishing trip, and pasta prepared by an authentic chef in his entourage.
In addition to special recipes, the hotels and inns that are part of the route will present local crafts to guests and suggest tours and experiences, such as a carriage ride or kayak ride, horseback riding, photographic safari, bird watching and participation in an entourage of truth.
The time chosen for the trip determines the itinerary. In summer, the period of rains and floods, the Pantanal is especially hot and vibrant — it’s the right time to take a trip on the boats that sail at the height of the treetops and watch the ballet of migratory birds.
Cooler and drier, winter reveals other landscapes: it is when you can see animals such as jaguars, deer, alligators, ocelots, toucans and capybaras. “I can’t say which season is more beautiful”, Paulo melts. “It is even better to visit the Pantanal at least twice, at different times.”
In Paulo Machado’s project, there is food for all tastes, with the most varied accents. The dishes reveal Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish and even Japanese influences, composing a true gastronomic mosaic.
Puchero, for example, a meat stew with bones prepared with the backbone of the ox, is originally made with chickpeas, but in the Pantanal version, it appears without the ingredient.
While fish and alligator meat form the basis of food in the region closest to Corumbá, beef is the favorite of those who live in the vicinity of Aquidauana — the two cities are 300 kilometers apart.
“Where beef is consumed, the ox is eaten from head to tail. The head is considered a delicacy, and the kids are part of the sarrabulho recipe, of Portuguese origin”, says the chef.
Cultural heritage of Aquidauana, the oreada meat is salted and dried in the sun and can be used in several preparations. The Monteiro pig, a European breed that became wild in the Pantanal, provides dark and tasty meat, as well as lard for cooking.
The manioc flour produced by the Quilombola Community Furna dos Baianos, in Aquidauana, and by Colônia Pulador, in Anastácio, formed by immigrants from the Northeast, is famous.
It also has a lot of corn, the main ingredient of the Paraguayan soup — which is not real soup, but a salted corn cake. Machado says that, in his interventions, he was careful not to alter the essence of the dishes.
“The recipes are from the local cooks, especially the cooks, because I noticed a very strong female presence on the farms. They have the seasoning in their hands. At most, I suggested the inclusion of some elements, such as the yerba mate that went into the paçoca or cumin that I added to the sarrabulho.”
Until the official launch of the route arrives, videos about the chef’s expedition, with a soundtrack by Gabriel Sater, the Xeréu Trindade in the soap opera, will be shown on social networks and on Youtube.
The popularity of the remake of the soap opera Pantanal, says the chef, has been instrumental in promoting tourism in the region. Not by chance, the ten hotels and inns chosen for the gastronomic route are located along the BR-262, the Pantanal stretch that serves as the backdrop for the plot.
“Brazil began to look more closely at the Pantanal in the 1990s, when the first version of the telenovela was shown. Now, after the fires and the historic drought we are facing, this resumption has been especially important.”
Check out what to taste on the Pantanal gastronomic route
Island Refuge Farm Ecolodge
Est. Parque, s/nº, Miranda (MS). Reservations: (67) 99245-5773. Three-night package, for couples, from R$5,540, with full board and tours (drinks separately). What to taste: Carne oreada with pumpkin puree and manioc.
San Francisco farm
BR 262, km 583, Miranda (MS). Reservations: (67) 3242-3333. Daily rate for a couple, with full board and three tours, from R$ 1,164. What to taste: Cassava mousseline with ora-pro-nóbis and meat puchero with buffalo mozzarella and pequi.
Baía das Pedras Farm Hotel
MS-228, Aquidauana (MS). Reservations: (67) 3382-1275. Rates from R$ 1,200 per person in an all-inclusive system, with tours and drinks. What to taste: Sarrabulho Pantaneiro.
Pantanal Experience
BR-262, km 542, Miranda (MS). Reservations: (67) 98481-0132. Daily rate for a couple, with full board and two tours, from R$ 1,280. What to taste: Pinto fillet with cumbaru cream.
Pantanal Jungle Lodge
Est. Pantanal Park, km 8.5, Passo do Lontra, Corumbá (MS). Reservations: (67) 2020-0927. Rates from R$995 per person, package of two days and one night, with breakfast and four tours. What to try: Piranha broth.
Pousada Aguapé
Rod. MS-171, km 54, Aquidauana (MS). Reservations: (67) 3258-1146. Double rate with full board and two tours from R$ 1,200. What to taste: Cut curd with dulce de leche and crispy farofa.
Pousada Pequi
Road MS-171, km 40, Aquidauana (MS). Reservations: (67) 99934-5781. Rates from R$570 per person, with full board and two tours. What to taste: Paraguayan soup with fresh herbs.
Pioneer Inn
BR-262, km 535, Miranda (MS). Reservations: (67) 99986-1716. Rates for a couple with breakfast and Pantanal night, with dinner and live music, R$ 600. What to taste: Pasta with a delegation.
Nook Valley of the Sun
BR-262, km 17, Corumbá (MS). Reservations: (67) 99904-8325. Rates for a couple with breakfast at R$ 280. What to taste: Sun-dried meat paçoca with plantain.
Terroir Pantanal Wine & Beer
R. Carlos Camisão, s/nº, Aquidauana (MS). Visit schedule: (67) 99351-3464. Entry to the winebar with tasting of three glasses of wine (or three beer cauldrons) at R$120 per person. What to taste: Pantanal mini-tower of oreada meat, dry curd, plantain chips and pestle paçoca.
