Regina Tchelly, Sustainable Chef

What do ex-President Dilma Rousseff, actor Harrison Ford and patients at the General Hospital in Nova Iguaçu, Brazil, have in common? They’ve all tasted one or more of the dishes created by Chef Regina Tchelly. Since 2011, tens of thousands of women across the country have benefited from her training courses. Not to mention the many interviews given on television across Brazil. Why such a strong interest for this woman of action?

The answer is easy: this woman has a passion for organic food and the circle of food in harmony with life. The concept is simple: we cook with everything, from leaves to roots and even vegetable peels. The results are astonishing. Less waste and healthier food. In 2011, this domestic worker launched Favela Orgânica with the help of three friends. Her initial budget was 140 reais, about $70.

Her goal is also to create gardens in her poor neighborhood of favéla de Babilônia in Rio de Janeiro. “The only selection criteria is that you want a garden and then take care of it. I come up with everything else,” Regina explained at the time. Today, this sustainable chef offers ten group workshops a month and presents an average of ten talks.

Through creativity and experience, women and men can discover unusual tastes. It’s literally transforming our habits and our relationship with vegetables. Please note that all the dishes prepared here are meat-free. Just a few examples: beet and hibiscus bread, pumpkin skin bread with chillies, turnip ceviche and broccoli stalk quiche. Personally, I love the banana peel bread, a recipe Vanessa has been cooking at home ever since.

For its latest food guide, Brazil has received worldwide acclaim, including La Presse journalist Stéphanie Bérubé: “So what does this revolutionary book say? Cook more, so eat less processed food, which inevitably reduces salt, sugar and probably fat, and eat meals with family and friends. Especially not in front of the television.” In Brazil, as in Canada, the rate of obesity among young people is alarming. Do our societies have the capacity to follow this simple, clear advice? I think so, without hesitation. Do the people want to? I’m not sure yet. Perhaps the answer lies in awareness and education.

“Let Food Be Thy Medicine”
Hippocrates (460-377 BC), father of modern medicine.