João Wengorovius

It is always remarkable to walk into a place and feel that passionate, confident spark you can only find in the eyes of those who are starting something new, committed to doing it well, willing not to do more of the same, but to do it differently. To do ‘their thing’.
I had heard that something new and fresh was happening in the Algarve and I encountered that spark again when I was finally able to go to @austa_resta , meet Emma and David Campus - the adventurous English couple who opened the restaurant about a year ago - and taste the food of chef David Barata.
Austa seems to be filling a space not occupied by the high end haute cuisine (of which the Algarve has some excellent examples) or the traditional and/or family-run restaurants. More casual than the former, more sophisticated than the latter.
Driven by an attention to design, a respect for the territory, a commitment to the region’s small producers and unfussy, well-made food (how wonderful the rabanada with goose barnacles and papada, the squid from Quarteira, the pork presa with peach!), creativity to match, good wines and warm hospitality.
We know all too well how difficult it is to open a restaurant and to persevere.
You have to be somewhat crazy, a dreamer, unreasonable.
Fortunately, such people exist. Less

It is always remarkable to walk into a place and feel that passionate, confident spark you can only find in the eyes of those who are starting something new, committed to doing it well, willing not to do more of the same, but to do it differently. To do ‘their thing’.
I had heard that something new and fresh was happening in the Algarve and I encountered that spark again when I was finally able to go to @austa_resta , meet Emma and David Campus - the adventurous English couple who opened the restaurant about a year ago - and taste the food of chef David Barata.
Austa seems to be filling a space not occupied by the high end haute cuisine (of which the Algarve has some excellent examples) or the traditional and/or family-run restaurants. More casual than the former, more sophisticated than the latter.
Driven by an attention to design, a respect for the territory, a commitment to the region’s small producers and unfussy, well-made food (how wonderful the rabanada with goose barnacles and papada, the squid from Quarteira, the pork presa with peach!), creativity to match, good wines and warm hospitality.
We know all too well how difficult it is to open a restaurant and to persevere.
You have to be somewhat crazy, a dreamer, unreasonable.
Fortunately, such people exist. Less

It’s not easy to walk the talk when you’re trying to create a restaurant that aims for zero waste, supports regenerative agriculture and champions a serious commitment to preserving the environment.
It’s even more difficult to do so and come up with a creative and interesting cuisine, with plenty of deliciousness (I loved the zander dish - a fish that is certainly not on fine dining’s ‘noblest’ fish lists - to which George adds fried quinoa on top of a strawberry seed pil-pil padron and worcestershire, egg white garum, rhubarb, blackened citrus and pine nuts).
It’s a cuisine of convictions, compromises, restrictions and less obvious choices.
You have to know that there are flavours that can only be achieved by waiting, like those that rest in all the jars and jugs around the room, believe that there are no by-products, only products, that waste cannot be wasted, that there are many people who think like us and are already doing their bit, in agriculture, fishing and sustainable livestock farming.
We have to trust that there will be more and more people who go out to dine primarily to enjoy themselves but who are not indifferent to the origin of the products, the philosophy of the restaurant, its creative integrity.
You have to be persistent, coherent and imaginative, not because of a whimsical choice but because there’s no other way to make it happen.
It’s a more winding road, but I can’t see Lara and George doing anything else.
@restaurant.sem Less

It’s not easy to walk the talk when you’re trying to create a restaurant that aims for zero waste, supports regenerative agriculture and champions a serious commitment to preserving the environment.
It’s even more difficult to do so and come up with a creative and interesting cuisine, with plenty of deliciousness (I loved the zander dish - a fish that is certainly not on fine dining’s ‘noblest’ fish lists - to which George adds fried quinoa on top of a strawberry seed pil-pil padron and worcestershire, egg white garum, rhubarb, blackened citrus and pine nuts).
It’s a cuisine of convictions, compromises, restrictions and less obvious choices.
You have to know that there are flavours that can only be achieved by waiting, like those that rest in all the jars and jugs around the room, believe that there are no by-products, only products, that waste cannot be wasted, that there are many people who think like us and are already doing their bit, in agriculture, fishing and sustainable livestock farming.
We have to trust that there will be more and more people who go out to dine primarily to enjoy themselves but who are not indifferent to the origin of the products, the philosophy of the restaurant, its creative integrity.
You have to be persistent, coherent and imaginative, not because of a whimsical choice but because there’s no other way to make it happen.
It’s a more winding road, but I can’t see Lara and George doing anything else.
@restaurant.sem Less

Marvellous wagyu ramyun (the Korean version of Japan’s ramen), mouthwatering fried chicken with a delicious yogurt dip and a caviar quenelle, Ja Jang style pork ribs with cucumber kimchi and potatoes, fresh scallops with cucumber salsa, sesame seeds, radish and kafir lime.
There are many reasons why I make a point of visiting @jejunoodlebar every time I come to New York, having learned of this little West Village gem almost by accident years ago. It has since earned a Michelin star (America's first Michelin-starred noodle shop in 2019 New York Guide) and is a regular on nytimes critic Pete Well's 100 Best Restaurants is NYC list (this year at #16).
@chefdouglaskim , who cooked at Bouley, Per Se and Chef's Table in Brooklyn before opening Jeju, shows tremendous sensitivity and skill in presenting traditional Korean food with a modern approach and technique that elevates the word comfort to a whole new level. Great to be back. Less

Marvellous wagyu ramyun (the Korean version of Japan’s ramen), mouthwatering fried chicken with a delicious yogurt dip and a caviar quenelle, Ja Jang style pork ribs with cucumber kimchi and potatoes, fresh scallops with cucumber salsa, sesame seeds, radish and kafir lime.
There are many reasons why I make a point of visiting @jejunoodlebar every time I come to New York, having learned of this little West Village gem almost by accident years ago. It has since earned a Michelin star (America's first Michelin-starred noodle shop in 2019 New York Guide) and is a regular on nytimes critic Pete Well's 100 Best Restaurants is NYC list (this year at #16).
@chefdouglaskim , who cooked at Bouley, Per Se and Chef's Table in Brooklyn before opening Jeju, shows tremendous sensitivity and skill in presenting traditional Korean food with a modern approach and technique that elevates the word comfort to a whole new level. Great to be back. Less

One of the many reasons to stop and visit Estremoz in the Alentejo is the emergence of new restaurants led by young, driven people with the ingenuity to do original, quality work.
One of the latest is undoubtedly @casadogadanha_restaurante (in addition to the well-known @gadanhamercearia ).
For the first of a series of "Casa do Gadanha and Friends", @trindaderuben invited two other chefs who, like him, I think are cooking really delicious food at the moment ( @_brunocaseiro at @cavalaricagrupo and @francesco_angelo_ogliari from @tuamadre.evora ) for a one-night-only dinner paired by @cabecasdoreguengo and @joao_portugal_ramos wines. I suspect there will be plenty of reasons to come back.
Some of the dishes:
“Broad Bean, Salted Zabaione and Smoked Jawl”
“Roast lamb Agnolotti, artichoke and cured lemon”
“Squid, asparagus and sauce”
“Back pork “presa”, white shrimp and onion”
Some of the dishes: “Broad Bean, Salted Zabaione and Smoked Jawl” / “Roast lamb Agnolotti, artichoke and cured lemon” / “Squid, asparagus and sauce” / "“Back pork “presa”, white shrimp and onion” Less

It was the perfect setting.
The courtyard of the Palace of the Dukes of Cadaval with its blossoming orange trees and small square fountains, protected by high white walls from the church and the rooms that host the various art exhibitions that take place there.
Inside the Cavalariça Évora restaurant (sister restaurant to Cavalariça in Comporta), the works of South African artist Esther Mahlangu and the colourful, geometric interior design of Jacques Grange.
At 7.30pm it was still warm outside and that’s where dinner was served.
A sequence of various dishes celebrating Ribatejo and Alentejo gastronomy, but above all the pleasure of seeing three chefs with different creative points of view and individualities interpreting the seasonal ingredients available, accompanied by a very inspired selection of wines from @templewines.eu
In the these pictures
“Pork cheek, chickpeas, Silarcas mushrooms (Amanita Ponderosa) and Pink prawn (Haliporoides triarthrus)”, by @_brunocaseiro
“Túberas (Terfezia arenaria), sea urchin, potatoes”,
by @mibrasiil @gadanhamercearia
“Monkfish, broad beans, honey”,
by @manuel.liebaut

@cavalaricagrupo
@palaciocadaval

#foodlovefest
#alentejo Less