FOUR Magazine was delighted to take part in last weekend’s fabulous gastronomic marathon:the grand finale to Taste Portugal’s 2014/15 season, whichwelcomed spring.TheTastePortugal celebration was the culmination of culinary celebrations that started in London:a fanfare for the relatively undiscovered world-class quality of Portugal’s chefs and finest ingredients.
In customary FOUR style, we joined a star-spangled line-up of chefs and sommeliers to taste fine food and fine wines, set in the wonderful backdrop of spring in the Algarve.Seven top chefs–eleven Michelin stars between them–from Portugal and London congregated at ’s Gusto, a modern Mediterranean venue of the Conrad Algarve.
Celebrations included a Kitchen Party, hosted by , where guests could experience first-hand the buzz and excitement generated by a team of globally acclaimed chefs working in one venue to prepare their signature dishes.Following the Kitchen Party, there was a more informal degustation event–six courses of the best in fine food and fine wines.
As well as the best in food and fine dining, guests were treated to the finest wines, carefully chosen to compliment individual dishes and highlight the qualities of the sublime gastronomic experience.Antonio Lopes of Conrad Gusto led the team of sommeliers, cementing the truly international class of the event.
The exciting line-up of chefs included Portuguese and Ricardo Costa, FrenchVincent Farges and other international celebrities, including Graham Hornigold, the Galvin brothers and Henrique Sa Pessoa.The gourmet repertoire was equally international, with so many delicious interpretations and re-interpretations of traditional and more adventurous cuisine based on the finest ingredients. Wonderful combinations of flavours and textures included veal oxtail stew and caramelised pistachio; lamb shoulder combined with chorizo; tonno tonnato–tuna presented in three ways and amberjack fish prepared with yuzu and lemongrass.Desserts included the use of the best in local ingredients and wines.The epitome of Portuguese delicacies made a centre-stage appearance with Graham Hornigold’s re-interpretation of the pastel de nata.
The Taste of Portugal event firmly cemented Portugal’s place as an international gourmet destination.Readers of FOUR Magazine will not be disappointed and should take every opportunity to try out the remarkable food and wines.
Find out more about Taste Portugal London attasteportugal-london.com. #TastePortugalLondon