Read the following testimony from school cook Ana Paula Gonçalves, from the Minaçu Community (GO):
“Advancing to the second stage of the competition and winning the contest for best quilombola dish means RESILIENCE! Resistance against the past where, as a child, I was enslaved with domestic work in exchange for housing in the city so I could continue my studies.
Representing the quilombola people and the school cooks of Goiás, especially those from Minaçu, at the Escola de Sabores was a very emotional experience for me!
When I made the dish Segredos da Terra (Secrets of the Earth), I remembered a lot about my childhood, my family… because this dish carries my life story.
But I also thought about my children at school because school meals go beyond food; they are care, affection, love and responsibility, and that is how we, the cooks, cook and prepare snacks every day! That is why this victory is not only mine, but everyone’s. I am grateful to God and to everyone.”