Chef Dada - The 'Pele' of Brazilian cuisine

Just as the legendary Pele used his passion for football to raise himself to the greatest heights of the game in Brazil, so has Chef Aldaci Dada dos Santos, or simply Dada, who has inspired millions with her trailblazing culinary creativity.

Born in 1961, in Sitio do Conde, a city in Bahia, Dada was raised in a humble home with her mother and brother in a 'lath and plaster' house. As a young child, Dada was always seen laughing her way into the kitchens of others. "I loved to be at other people's houses to see things I thought were important to me. I did not even need to know the owners - I simply used to go in - talk and play, go to the kitchen, wash a dish, clean the floor, stay there and make myself at home. There I had food - they gave me food because I was always playing with the girls - they gave me lunch and everything, so I felt like I was in my house, raised there!"

Culinary foundation
It was in this environment of the various colours, scents and flavours that Dada built her culinary foundation. She learnt everything from the owners and the nannies of the households, who taught her how to iron, wash and clean the house. As compensation for watching television and spending the days at the homes of these wealthy people, she used to cook.

But it was the love for saltfish that defined Dada's cooking. As a child from a low-income family, the non-refrigerated saltfish with a long shelf life was ideal.

She would soon learn that her experiments in the kitchen of these households, with various amounts of seasonings that provided such intensity, would result in flavourful dishes that continued to excite her imagination and pique her curiosity. Why not this and that, or add more of this - she would think to herself. Whether it was bits of red pepper, dende oil, or saltfish accompanied by 'moqueca', a sweet green papaya, 'xerem', a Brazilian-style ground corn, or 'manioc', cassava, the result would always be explosive and tasteful meals that seduced the taste buds of all who came in contact.

Public fairs
It was these very dishes that Dada then started to sell in public fairs, fed hungry Carnival revellers and provided daily lunch boxes for her loyal customers. Word of this woman from Bahia with grand culinary skills soon spread. She saved a bit at a time and it was the immense feedback that drove her to open a restaurant right in the middle of the 'favela', her backyard. Her success continued and led her to open restaurants, 'Varal da Dada' and 'Soriso da Dada', reviewed by critics, both locally and internationally, as offering one of the best in Bahia.

Coupled with her early experiences, Dada has created unique dishes with immense Brazilian flavour utilising saltfish, a treasure of Norway's cold, clean and clear waters, that has excited those near and far. Dada's culinary masterpieces have been experienced by former First Lady Hilary Clinton, and she has given lectures and training to countless international chefs.

It is no wonder, then, that executive chefs in Jamaica are looking forward to this workshop, dubbed 'Chef Dada's Culinary Adventures with Saltfish from Norway' , to be conducted in early September. The incomparable Dada will introduce new and non-traditional methods to creating tasty saltfish dishes, mixing traditional Brazilian flavours, with an international flair.

Cuilinary Adventure
A number of chefs from some of the island's finest restaurants and hotels in Kingston, St Andrew, St Ann and St James will be enjoying creative workshops with the popular Chef Dada of Brazil.

Dubbed 'the Saltfish Culinary Adventure' , the three one-day exclusive workshops which will be held at the Hilton Kingston hotel, sponsored by the Norwegian Seafood Export Council. Chef Dada will be in Jamaica from September 1 to 3, sharing new and non-traditional methods of creating tasty saltfish dishes, gourmet-style.

Among those who have signed on to take part in the 'Culinary adventure' are executive chefs: Norma Shirley, Norma's on the Terrace, Jose Riquelme, Sunset Jamaica Grande, Leon Meredith, Jamaica Pegasus, Stephen Sowa, Half Moon Hotel, and Kingsley McGregor, Strawberry Hills.
The National Training Agency is also on board, as four representatives of the HEART/NTA Runaway Bay Training Centre are registered to participate.

Svein Wara, marketing manager of the Norwegian Seafood Export Council, said he hoped "These workshops will promote greater use of their nutritious products in seeking to promote a broader use of saltfish." Jamaica imports most of its salted fish (saithe) from Norway.