The Chaîne des Rôtisseurs’ weekend started on Saturday, October 16 with a Michelin-star dinner at Restaurant Vistas at Monte Rei Golf & Country Club, near the Spanish border.
Our confrères and their guests enjoyed a welcome drink, offered by the general manager of the resort and long-time member of the Chaîne Salvador de Lucena, whilst watching a beautiful sunset on the terrace of the restaurant.
Chef Rui Silvestre had prepared a true Michelin feast mixing traditional and modern Portuguese cuisine with the freshest ingredients, from baby vegetables to oyster and toro tuna, to a remarkable john dory and some Iberian lamb fillet, all carefully complemented by a selection of Portuguese wines chosen by Sommelier Nuno Pires. A memorable dinner in a memorable setting! The night was spent in villas at Monte Rei, and some participants even found appetite for a big breakfast served at the golf club.
On Sunday morning, some participants chose to hit a few golf balls at Monte Rei, whilst others went strolling along the beaches of Cacela Velha and Cabanas de Tavira or shopping in nearby Spain, but everybody promptly re-joined for lunch at Noélia & Jerónimo’s restaurant in Cabanas de Tavira.
Chef of the Year for the 2021 edition of the Boa Cama, Boa Mesa guide, the ‘Bible’ of Portuguese restaurants, “Noélia’s”, as it is usually known, is always full and near impossible to book, so this was to be a very special and long-awaited lunch.
The Chef of Chefs, as Noélia is known, did not disappoint! She amazed us with an incredible array of the freshest fish and shellfish straight from the local market, all treated with the greatest respect for the product, whether it was a tempura of gambas with spicy mango or a ceviche of Dourada, or a dish of rice and local red prawns (Carabineiros) with baby asparagus…
Seven courses later, all washed down with a Manoella white wine, the meal finished with a killer almond and chocolate cake, and we could hardly stand up after that! An extraordinary experience, to be repeated, but maybe on a smaller scale…
And it was another great weekend for the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs!
For more information, contact Dr. Jean Ferran – [email protected]
By Dr. Jean Ferran
