In Rio, in working-class neighborhoods like Complexo da Maré where Marielle grew up, meals don't follow the starter-main-dessert format. The heart is the 'prato feito' (PF): a single plate piling white rice, feijão (black beans in broth), a 'mistura' (meat, here chicken), a bit of salad, and farofa. Around it revolve 'petiscos' and 'salgados' from the boteco (fried snacks shared standing up), 'doces de festa' (sweets for birthdays and neighborhood gatherings), and 'sucos' of tropical fruits to refresh. This is a cuisine of sharing, where you discuss the world — and politics — between two forkfuls.

A Tupi indigenous heritage that became the soul of the Brazilian table: sprinkled on feijão, turned into golden farofa, it 'sticks to the ribs' in modest households. Manioc, the people's root, runs through all of Marielle's Carioca cuisine.