West London College Students Meet the Brazilian Ambassador at Casa Brasil

The Brazilian ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Fred Arruda met with students from West London College at a “Meet the Wine Makers” event at Casa Brasil in London’s Covent Garden last week (2 September 2022).

The catering and hospitality students served wine at the upmarket event for Wines of Brasil, and were introduced to the ambassador by Chefs’ Forum Director Catherine Farinha.

Catherine said:

“The Chefs’ Forum is all about giving students enrichment opportunities to go above and beyond what they experience at the College. We were delighted to welcome students to help with the event at Casa Brasil. Meeting the ambassador was a bonus and the students were thrilled to be introduced.”

Wines showcased at the event were from leading Brazilian vineyards including Casa Valduga, Garibaldi, Miolio, Vivant, Aurora, Familia Salton, Mioranza and Foppa & Ambrosi.

Tainara Reis Da Silva is Brazilian, and hopes to enrol onto the West London College Patisserie and Confectionery Level 2.  Tainara was especially delighted to meet the ambassador, as she had no idea that she would get the opportunity to meet such a distinguished guest, and from her home country too!

Tainara said:

“When I came through the door of this fantastic immersive event, I really felt like I had come home. It was so lovely to see and smell all of the amazing Brazilian produce and sample the wines I used to drink back home with my friends in Brazil.  I was just so grateful for the opportunity to meet the ambassador and work at such a high profile event.”

Speaking about the Meet the Makers event, the Head of Trade and Investment at the Brazilian Embassy, Carlos Pacha said: “Casa Brasil is a great opportunity for people in London, UK, to try Brazilian food and drink and we really hope to make this an annual event.”

Rafael Romagna, Wines of Brazil Manager, said:

“To see and smell the wines from Brazil on display and being served at Casa Brasil was amazing. It’s been a great show.  I was so impressed with the students and it was a joy to see how enthusiastic they were about the different wines being showcased.”

Head of Hospitality and Catering, Denise Charles also attended the prestigious event. Denise said: “It was wonderful to give such a professional work experience opportunity to our students and on a personal note I really enjoyed finding out about the huge range of wines from Brazil.”