Alferes do Tacho wins Brazil’s top artisanal doce de leite award
The product is made in the Campo das Vertentes area of Minas Gerais. Its triangular shape draws on the Baroque style associated with São João del Rei’s architecture and history.
Leonardo de Souza Chagas began making doce de leite in 2019, three years before the Alferes do Tacho brand was established. He said his aim was to combine innovation with tradition and evoke consumers’ memories: “The intention has always been to bring back people’s cherished memories, with an innovative product that still tastes like grandma’s doce de leite.”
Chagas also took technical courses provided by Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Rural (Senar), working with Sindicato Rural de São João de Rei. His training covered dairy products, doce de leite production, marketing and speciality cheeses.
The competition is organised by Confederação da Agricultura e Pecuária do Brasil (CNA) to recognise the quality, variety and potential of Brazilian artisanal production, with particular attention to small producers. In 2026, judges assessed 115 samples of spreadable and solid doce de leite, alongside 170 cachaças and 85 olive oils from different parts of Brazil. Awards went to 30 producers across six states; 14 recipients were from Minas Gerais.
Chagas attended the ceremony and collected the award in person. “This recognition is not an endpoint, but confirmation that we are on the right track in making our doce de leite,” he said. Those attending included representatives of the CNA/Senar system, finalists and their families, heads of state agriculture and livestock federations, and Brazilian and international officials.
Speaking at the event, CNA vice-president Gedeão Pereira highlighted the award’s role in recognising rural production and broadening market access for artisanal goods. He said such initiatives help bring the quality of Brazilian products to consumers at home and abroad.
