I’ve always been a fan of Gastromotiva Refettorio . The project is led by David Hertz, co-founded by the food journalist and my great friend Alexandra Forbes, who believes and invests in power of gastronomy as a driver of social transformation.
Last Tuesday (28), I had the opportunity to participate in a lunch there hosted by an important team: Virgílio Martinez, chef in charge of Central, in Lima, chosen in 2023 as the best restaurant in the world by the 50 Best Restaurants ranking; the Mexican Tomás Bermúdez, leading the also award-winning La Docena; and Alejandro Chamorro and Pia Salazar, who run Nuema, winner of the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023 list as the best in Ecuador.
This was just the beginning of a much bigger project: Reffetorio Gastromotiva now operates as a restaurant! And the best, with a super affordable price (R$45) for a menu consisting of starter, main course, dessert and drink.
Served at lunch only which in December will be on Thursdays and Fridays, the transformation of Refettorio Gastronomtiva into a restaurant aims to guarantee funds to hold daily solidarity dinners in the space itself . The beneficiaries served will be served in the same way as customers – with starter, main course, dessert and drink, and will eat the same food. The objective is that the meal will then be served from Monday to Friday.
One of the main pillars of Gastromotiva, the social organization that gives the space its name, is the fight against food waste through the full use of inputs used to prepare meals.
“Until the beginning of 2020, we offered solidarity dinners every day. After the pandemic, we had not yet been able to return to operating Refettorio Gastromotiva as we would have liked. We currently have one solidarity lunch per week. By transforming Refettorio into a restaurant open to customers, with a full menu at a fixed price, we sought sufficient resources to offer daily dinners and to maintain the space, which is very important for Rio de Janeiro”, explains David Hertz, co- founder of Refettorio Gastromotiva.
This Thursday (1) was the first day of operation and the same menu signed by the four award-winning chefs that I had the honor of tasting at the beginning of the week was served. And I’ve already learned that the restaurant will soon welcome other great chefs for special menu editions, so it’s worth keeping an eye out!
According to David, at each solidarity lunch or dinner, Refettorio Gastromotiva can serve up to 72 people in socially vulnerable situations. In other words: with the lunch operation to generate resources, it will be possible to offer nutritious and quality meals to 360 people per week, more than 20 thousand per year.
The amount raised will also be directed to the educational pillar of the organization, so that it will be possible to offer an even greater number of people free training in the area of gastronomy. Gastromotiva has already benefited more than 8 thousand students with its professional training programs for the food and beverage sector.
In addition to visiting the space as a customer, the public can also volunteer to perform salon services during solidarity dinners. Furthermore, It is also possible to make donations to Gastromotiva, which works with a series of initiatives to combat hunger and food insecurity and promotes free quality education in the area of food and beverages to generate job and income opportunities.
I would like to take this opportunity to leave the organization’s pix for anyone who can help maintain this important project: [email protected] or donations via the website, Click here.
Refettorio Gastromotiva: Rua da Lapa, 108 – Rio de Janeiro – RJ
Source: CNN Brasil
Johanna Foster is an expert opinion writer with over 7 years of experience. She has a reputation for delivering insightful and thought-provoking articles on a variety of subjects. Her work can be found on some of the top online news websites, and she is currently lending her voice to the world stock market.
