Elysian food leaves a bitter taste in Brazil's 'greedy' leader

The President of Brazil said the food in Paris and Rome was «tiny». and «limited access». Photo: SERGIO LIMA/AFP

The President of Brazil criticized the food he was served during his visits to France and Italy, two culinary capitals of the world.

Luis Inacio Lula da Silva complained that the portions at the Champs The palace and residence of the President of Italy were too small, and he preferred honest and hearty Brazilian food.

77-year-old Lula visited Paris and Rome, two cities famous for their cuisine, last week, but was not impressed « exquisite dishes with Emmanuel Macron, President of France, and Sergio Mattarella.

«I had a lunch. with Macron and with Mattarella,” Lula said on his YouTube channel. «Two palace dishes that weren't that good.»

A left wing veteran claimed the dishes were «tiny» and «limited.»

«There's no big tray. for you to choose and get what you want. It's the little you eat,» Lula said.

«I can't get used to it.»

«Honestly, I can't get used to it. I need quantity. It may be gluttony on my part, but I love quantity.”

The Elysée has a new chef since 2021, when Guillaume Gomez left his post as head of the presidential kitchen after 25 years to become Mr Macron's chef.» special envoy to promote Gallic gastronomy.

According to some French reports, Mr Macron wanted to change chefs amid complaints that better food could be obtained at the prime minister's table. Mr. Gomez has been replaced by Fabrice Desvines, who was previously in charge of feeding the President of the Senate for 20 years.

Mr Desvinier reportedly immediately opted for «lighter» dishes to please Brigitte Macron, who prefers fish. to meat and made it clear that she should eat 10 fruits and vegetables every day.

Details about what exactly Loula was served in the presidential palaces of France and Italy have not yet been published.

But a bitter taste may have remained when he clashed with Mr Macron over the French parliament's opposition to the long-delayed EU trade deal with MERCOSUR, the South American Common Market, which includes Brazil.

The EU and MERCOSUR bloc, which also includes Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, completed negotiations on an agreement in 2019, but the deal was put on hold over concerns about Brazil's commitment to combating climate change and combating deforestation in the Amazon rainforest .

Brazil's president said that when he travels abroad, he misses his country's traditional dishes, such as rabada, oxtail soup or galinada, chicken stew with rice.

«Too delicious»

“Outside of Brazil, you don’t find these things very often. Everything is very well thought out there. And sometimes we don’t even know what it is,” he said.

He said that the Brazilian Foreign Ministry rejected him a request to serve feijoada at state dinners.Black beans and stewed pork are the country's national dish.

Lula served 580 days of a 12-year prison sentence for corruption before his sentence was overturned in 2019.

Last year, in a stunning comeback, he was re-elected president after the ouster of Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right incumbent.

Mr Macron confessed his love for cordon bleu, which is meat wrapped in cheese , breaded and deep fried.

Last year, he enthusiastically supported the successful campaign to secure a place for the French baguette on the United Nations Cultural Agency's list of intangible cultural heritage.

Mr Macron named bread «250 grams of magic and perfection in our daily life.»