#WCW: Chef Carolina Santos-Neves Dreams Big for Latin Cuisine

Art is art and food is food, right? Not so fast. Carolina Santos-Neves has some things to say about that.

The Brazilian chef showed her stuff at the Tribeca Film Institute’s Key Ingredients event, where she, amongst other chefs, blurred the line between food and film. The annual initiative pairs chefs with storytellers to create dishes inspired by the films.

We caught up with Santos-Neves after the event to talk about her work at NYC hotspot Cómodo, her food-spirations and what’s to come for Latin cuisine. Read the interview below and see why she’s this week’s Woman Crush Wednesday. [pagebreak]

Tell us about how you first became interested in food.

My love of food stems from growing up in a family that: A.) Also loved food and B.) Moved around alot. As a daughter to a Brazilian diplomat, I got to live in various countries: Switzerland, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Russia, UK, and Portugal. So it only made sense that in spending time in those countries, and in getting to know the culture along came the role food plays in all of that. My mom also just happens to be an excellent cook, so I got spoiled very fast and exposed to dishes like escargot and meat carpaccio at what I feel was an early age. It goes without saying that food brings people together and I’m a huge people person; I’m also a people pleaser to a certain extent so cooking for people can create a happy reality – what’s better than that?

” src=”https://thelatinkitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/spacer.gif” title=”<--break-->“>What was the process like collaborating with the directors of The Creator of Universes for TFI’s Key Ingredients event? What inspired you the most, led you to create this dish, etc?

It was alot of fun! When creating my dish I wanted it to be something that drew from the idea of innocence. The type of innocence that seems to exist in a young child, but also in someone who is elderly. The movie is essentially about the relationship between a young boy and his grandmother, and the child’s reaction in coming to terms with the fact that his grandmother won’t be around forever. I felt like a cookie is just something that people of all ages love, and I felt that it just made sense. I created “La Innocencia” – a combo of sweet, sour crunchy, smooth and buttery as a metaphor for how life can be. [pagebreak]

Changing gears a bit… What’s the biggest misconception as a female in the kitchen, or have you ever experienced anydiscrimination as a female in the industry?

I think that females [are thought to be] not strong enough to lift certain things or do certain things. I certainly feel like that’s not true. I haven’t had any obvious discrimination but in talking to certain male chefs I do feel like I’m not considered. Whether that’s a female versus male thing I think it’s hard to say. I try not to focus too much on whether someone is female or male. I like working with both. I think one can learn from everyone, and it’s really about the person, not necessarily their gender.

What do you hope to see from the Latin food scene in the future?

I would love to see more access to Latin ingredients! I’d love for Brazilian food to truly have more of an impact. It’s a country that has so much to offer, yet I feel like it’s one of the last South American countries to truly influence the culinary world. It’s more than just alot of meat on skewers!