A mania for meat

Vieiras－seared scallops, seaweed salad.[Photo/China Daily]

From Rio he has brought some typical Brazilian ingredients that he says are hard to find in Beijing, including tapioca (starch from cassava root), goiabada cascao (Brazilian guava paste) and castanha-do-para (popular Brazilian nuts found only in the country's Amazon forests).

Asked what he thinks will surprise people most when they try Brazilian food for the first time, he replies: "The mixture of food and fruits".

"We have some traditional combinations. When you think of pork, you think about pineapple in Brazil. Pork is heavy and pineapple helps with digestion.

"There are also oranges with feijoada (a stew of beans with beef and pork), passion fruit with salmon, and mangos with shrimp. Fruits in Brazil are so good, and the best way to eat them is simply having them pure."