LIFT UP LOCAL 032
Written by Pamela Patton
📷 courtesy of Amber Rose Photography
Quick and Easy Snack-Size Tastes of Brazil
In Brazil, cheese bread (or cheese roll) is the go-to snack and breakfast meal. Traditional Brazilian cheese bread, called pão de queijo in Portuguese, is made by blending grated cheese into the dough and baking it. The finished product is approximately the size of a traditional dinner roll.
Thanks to Alvaro Oliveria and his wife, chef Marina Lopes, Michigan residents can enjoy this popular traditional Brazilian snack by popping frozen dough into an oven.
Says Alvaro, “Marina and I came to the United States to support our family members who were going through a rough time. We intended to stay just a year but decided to stay. After living in Michigan for a while, we decided to start our own company, FlavorEat Foods, with the desire to do something simple, with high quality and that could provide a different experience for people’s lives at any time of the day. This immediately brought to our mind one of the most popular snacks in Brazil—cheese bread—which is a snack food that can be found just about anywhere—just like potato chips in the U.S.”
These Can’t Be Dairy- and Gluten-Free!
Many people avoid gluten, which often means no bread or rolls. But Alvaro and Marina quickly point out that their recipe uses tapioca flour, not wheat, meaning their delicious snack is gluten-free.
But the couple decided to take their snack a step further. Marina is a chef who trained at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York and other institutions and has special training in developing plant-based food. Marina is also lactose-intolerant, which prohibited her from enjoying her country’s traditional snack, so she devised a dairy-free version that’s as satisfying as the original.
“Our dairy-free version is gluten-free as well. Many customers find it hard to believe, but once they read the ingredients and take a bite, they are hooked! It is a very inclusive product, which can provide those who are lactose intolerant—like me—with the true experience of tasting a Brazilian cheese bread,” says Marina.
“ Our dairy-free version is gluten-free as well. Many customers find it hard to believe, but once they read the ingredients and take a bite, they are hooked! It is a very inclusive product, which can provide those who are lactose intolerant—like me—with the true experience of tasting a Brazilian cheese bread.””
But the couple didn’t stop there. Another popular Brazilian snack is churros, and FlavorEat Foods sells the version that’s so popular in Brazil.
“Churros are very popular in South America and Spain. There, pastry dough is fried and then covered with cinnamon. When cool, it’s often dipped into chocolate or caramel. But we do things differently in Brazil. Our churros are filled with delicious dulce de leche, with is basically milk and sugar boiled until creamy. It has a distinct taste close to caramel, making our churros a perfect snack for someone wanting something a little sweet.”
Traditional Snacks, Easy Preparation
FlavorEat Foods Brazilian-style cheese Bread and Mini Churros are sold frozen. “They don’t have any preservatives, so they must be kept frozen until you’re ready to prepare them,” Alvaro explains. “After preparing the dough, we flash-freeze them, which lowers the temperature from about 100 degrees to minus 40 degrees in about an hour and 30 minutes.”
He continues, “The Cheese Bread needs to be baked, and we recommend conventional oven to the best result, and the Mini Churros is ready to eat and can be warmed in an air fryer, in a toaster or oven.” The Cheese Bread is also the perfect size for small sandwiches, appetizers, and charcuterie boards.
Breaking Into the Market
FlavorEat Foods' manufacturing facility is in Wixom, and its products made their way to Meijer Marketplace stores using simple door-to-door salesmanship. “I met our sales representative, Ramon Rocha, while Marina and I were eating at a restaurant where he was our waitperson. We discovered he is also from Brazil and familiar with our traditional snacks. He’s been a great representative, bringing FlavorEat Foods products all over Michigan, and once the store managers tasted our Cheese Bread and Mini Churros, they wanted them in their stores.”
Alvaro and Marina are working on some new products for launch in 2025. Alvaro is secretive about details, except that Marina is always working to develop some new healthy and high-quality product.
“Our products have been so well received that we are excited to introduce more of our country’s favorite snacks—that are healthier, too—to Capital City Market customers.