Ingredientes da gastronomia nordestina e sua representação pelos restaurantes turísticos e regionais de Natal - RN

Abstract

Feeding is not a secondary issue in the culture of a people, it is a pillar that reveals their habits, customs and particular tastes, which reveal the people themselves. Thus, for the tourists, the regional cuisine is an attraction. Therefore, this assingment aims to analyze how the ingredients of the northeastern regional food are manifested nowadays, through the tourist and regional restaurants in Natal city. For this purpose, some specific goals were listed that will guide the research, namely: be aware of the gastronomic identity of the Northeast based on the book “História da Alimentação no Brasil”, by Luís Câmara Cascudo; identify which are the typical Northeastern ingredients; to analyze the Northeastern gastronomic influence on the menu of the main tourist restaurants with regional food in Natal; to check how Northeastern cuisine has been represented in the main regional restaurants in the city. This article is a qualitative research that maps, through a bibliographic review the work “História da Alimentação no Brasil”, by Luís da Câmara Cascudo, along with an analysis of the ingredients used in the kitchens of regional food restaurants in Natal, through its menus available electronically, via websites or social networks. Using Tripadvisor evaluations and pre-established criteria, 10 restaurants were selected to be included in the survey sample: Camarões Potiguar, Camarões Restaurante, Mangai, Camarões Midway Mall, Curió: Pra cumê e beber, Mangai, Manary, Farofa D'água, Tábua de Carne - Coastal Way, Tábua de Carne - Ponta Negra. It shall be noticed that the main ingredients of Brazilian food (with its singularities) are faithfully reinforced in the northeast region, reaching tourists in most of the aforementioned restaurants.