Minas Gerais will have a gastronomy course that will combine French techniques with Minas Gerais tradition

Minas Gerais will host a new gastronomy course by 2025, the result of UniBH’s partnership with Le Cordon Bleu, one of the most traditional and prestigious culinary schools in the world. The information, anticipated by UniBH, added to other highlights announced by the State Government this Friday (26), in the first edition of MTM – Minas Travel Market, a tourism fair held at Minascentro, in Belo Horizonte, and reinforces Minas as one of the main tourist and investment destinations in Brazil, in addition to highlighting the cultural and tourist powers of Cozinha Mineira.

The news coincides with the excellent moment of tourism in the state, which had the highest tourist activity in the country in the first two months of 2024, with an increase of 7.6% compared to the same period last year, and is also the leader in the accumulated performance in last 12 months, from March 2023 to February this year, with growth (12.6%) more than double the national average (4.9%), according to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) analyzed by Fecomércio- MG.

The UniBH course will have an innovative academic model, already followed by other institutions in the Ânima Ecosystem, with curricular units taught in partnership with Le Cordon Bleu and with intermediate certificates, thus constituting a double certification. Practical and in-person activities must take place on the Buritis campus. The course, which should be open by 2025, will combine French techniques with the diversity and richness of Brazilian ingredients, especially those from Minas Gerais.

“It is an honor to have the opportunity to mark the arrival in Belo Horizonte of Le Cordon Bleu, in partnership with UniBH, in an event so relevant to Minas Gerais culture and tourism. Celebrating our gastronomy from a perspective that unites the local with the global is a privilege for us”, says Pedro Coutinho, director of UniBH.

The MTM – Minas Travel Market replaces the old Minas Gerais Tourism Hall, run by the Brazilian Association of Travel Agencies (ABAV), and takes place until Saturday (27) at Minascentro, in Belo Horizonte. Valuing historical heritage, music, business, literature and the promotion of Minas Gerais cuisine also involve actions at the State Government stand at the event.

Participation in the MTM is an initiative of the Government of Minas Gerais, through the State Department of Culture and Tourism, carried out in partnership with the UniBH University Center, with sponsorship from the Minas Gerais Development Company (Codemge) and support from Sebrae Minas. The actions are also part of the “Year of Mineira Cuisine – Classic and Contemporary” project, launched in March, and the Mais Turistas program.

Conceived by the same creators of the Brazil Travel Market (BTM), one of the largest tourism fairs in Latin America, the MTM should bring together representatives from 19 Brazilian states and around two thousand tourism professionals in the capital of Minas Gerais.

“Tourism fairs are important moments on the local, national and international scene for us to position Destination Minas Gerais as a place to welcome people, to welcome people and tourism as a generator of employment and income. That’s what we’re going to do over the two days of MTM, in addition to attracting new business. Minas has a very rich and diverse culture and it is because of this that the state is the leader in tourist activity in the country, growing more than double the national average in the last 12 months, according to IBGE data”, highlights the Secretary of State for Culture and Minas Gerais Tourism, Leônidas de Oliveira.

Protagonism of Minas Gerais Cuisine

As always happens at national and international tourism fairs, Cozinha Mineira will also be a protagonist at MTM and the flavors, aromas and knowledge of the state’s cuisine will set the tone for the “Cozinha Viva” project. On Friday, chef Bernadete, from the North of Minas, prepared a caldoso rice with sun-dried meat in bottled butter, pequi and crispy baru farofa. Another attraction of the day, chef Highlander presented a pine nut risotto with trout produced in Serra da Mantiqueira. On Saturday, it will be the turn of Cozinha do Jequitinhonha, with chef Michel Abras and his dish “Aconchego de Vó Zarinha” (country sausage in rapadura and lemongrass sauce with moreno cream cheese, green andu farofinha and backyard rice).

Also this Friday, in partnership with the State Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage of Minas Gerais (Iepha-MG), the “Heritage to Collect” project will be presented. These are postcards with a brief summary of the Iepha Heritage Notebooks and a QR code that directs you to download the contents for free. The cards will be displayed in the Iepha building, in Praça da Liberdade, and in other state facilities.

Still within the program of this first day of MTM, journalist and cultural manager Afonso Borges, director-president of the Associação Cultural Semper um Papo, following the example of what happened at the World Travel Market (WTM) Latin America, in the middle of this month, talks about the calendar of literary festivals in Araxá (June 19th to 23rd), Paracatu (August 28th to September 1st) and Itabira (October 30th to November 3rd). In another activity at the stand, water sommelier Rodrigo Rezende will address the differences between the different types of drinks and how they can be paired with meals.

Another important agenda of the Government of Minas in the Minas Travel Market, the Invest Minas Tur platform, from the Investment and Promotion Agency Invest Minas, linked to the State Secretariat for Economic Development (Headquarters-MG), was released to the national market. Invest Minas Tur will be a facilitator for attracting investments in the sector, as it will enable a direct connection between investors and potential partners.

Musicians Rodrigo Borges and Ian Guedes, who carry the legacy of Clube da Esquina in their surnames, end the day at the Government of Minas stand with a show whose repertoire finds Minas Gerais in notes and chords.

Minas will have a new tourist route

The MTM – Minas Travel Market continues this Saturday (27) and the Government of Minas Gerais will announce a new tourist itinerary: the Rota das Artes, which will cover eight municipalities: Belo Horizonte, São Joaquim de Bicas, Igarapé, Brumadinho, Congonhas, Ouro Branco , Ouro Preto and Mariana. Also on the second day of MTM, chef Sinval Espírito Santo will lead the training action “Cozinha Mineira and experiential tourism: from stories to cases”.

Photo: Leo Bicalho-Secult