In its first edition - a ten-day event - more than 15 thousand teal meals were consumed, which was way beyond the most optimistic expectations.

In its first edition - a ten-day event - more than 15 thousand teal meals were consumed, which was way beyond the most optimistic expectations.

The reason for offering the teal is mainly due to a demand by tourists who came to the city asking where they could eat that soft and tasty meat. So, since that was the desire of those who were visiting, the city had the right product for the market, and the success depended only on the way it would be prepared.

The first editions of the National Teal Festival were carried out at the Hunting and Shooting Club and under canvas-covered pavilions. Due to the growing number of participants every year, City administrators realized that a larger site would be necessary. Major Ciro Roza, then, built the Maria Celina Vidoto Imhof Pavilion, a 10 thousand square meter construction - in the typical German style of the region - in a total area of 4 hectares.

FENARRECO takes place annually in October. Everyday, from 10 a.m. to over 4 a.m. the following morning, the festival offers meals, band shows, folk groups, family competitions, draft beer by the meter and other attractions. Parallel to the festival, the ground floor of the pavilion houses the Brusque Industrial Trade Show, where products of the city such as clothing, fabrics, etc. are commercialized at outlet prices.

Groups of people from everywhere in Brazil and from abroad transform the city and make the Festival an authentic family entertainment attraction with a clear advantage: everybody has fun with no violence. Annually, around 20 to 30 typical music groups perform at the festival. In this reign of joy, tourists from everywhere congratulate in harmony.

The tradition of the use of the teal in gastronomy is a century old. The introduction of that habit in Brazil is the responsibility of the German immigrants coming to the Itajai Valley. Like many people serve turkey for Christmas supper, Germans serve teal. The teal served is the one called "Peking Teal" , a hybrid animal, similar to the duck. Breeding improvements have allowed for a noble species, with high nutritional value and special taste.

The preparation seems simple. However, the secret for a different meal is in the use of seasonings: fine herbs complement the rich taste. There are large breeding farms in the region and the birds need space and water for their good development. The teal of the festival is always ordered a long time before the festival and is slaughtered mechanically, with practically no human handling. The meal, besides the meat, includes pasta, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, purple cabbage, beets, ginger and the teal stuffing. There are other alternative meals available.

The largest festival of the city, the National Teal Festival, puts Brusque in the calendar of the "Oktoberfests" (October festivals), a time of the year in which the state of Santa Catarina is literally invaded by tourists from everywhere.

Translation: Maria Cecília Pastorelli.
Pictures: Lysandro Lima.
All rights reserved (( Radar Sul ))