Sodexo Brazil chef gives GB students taste of World Cup
British students sampled a taste of this summer's World Cup thanks to a Brazilian chef on a UK tour as part of Sodexo's global chef exchange programme.
Hubert Visschedjik, from Sao Paulo, helped the Sodexo catering teams at nine universities, two academies, a school and a college of further education to create a traditional Brazilian menu for lunch and evening meal services between 25 February and 14 March.
Dishes on offer included baião de dois (a selection of cured meat rendered with rice and black beans), salpicão de frango (a creamy chicken salad appetiser), galinhada (chicken joint cooked with rice and corn on the cob) and escondidinho de bacalhau (a baked fish dish with a creamed potato topping).
In its seventh year, Sodexo's programme sees chefs from different countries share authentic cuisine and cooking techniques with local culinary teams.
Jane Bristow, managing director, Sodexo Education, said: "The global chef programme keeps our teams fresh and excited about food preparation, which helps them to better understand world cuisine and prepare new dishes with different flavours. It's also a great way to engage with young people who are interested in the industry."
Holland-born Visschedjik is an executive chef who has been with Sodexo in Brazil for almost 12 years and living in the country for nearly 20 years. His experience includes working with catering teams in a variety of settings, such as schools, hospitals and offshore remote sites, as well as at major sporting events like the Brazil Open tennis tournament, Sydney 2000 and London 2012 Olympics.
His UK tour concluded with a six-course tasting lunch at University College London, a three and a half year deal worth £15.7m that was won by Sodexo earlier this year.