Gastronomic festival perks up city centre streets on the 20th and 21st of August.
Photo: Gonçalo Villaverde
Arrebita Portimão (Perk Up Portimão) is back on the streets this weekend (20th and 21st of August) for what will be its 3rd edition. During the two-day event, between 18:00 and 23:00, 25 top chefs from different parts of the country will occupy the main shopping streets of the historic city centre to serve delicious street food.
Created by foodie consultants Amuse Bouche, the gastronomic festival is designed to highlight «local cuisine» prepared by Portugal’s new generation of chefs. Located in Portimão’s Alameda area, the event will highlight locally sourced fish and seafood, as well as other ingredients, in a varied menu designed «to please every palate».
The Algarve’s flourishing gastronomic scene will be well represented by chefs such as Louis Anjos (Al Sud, Lagos) with his sweet and salty Berliner with prawns, avocado and orange, and Nuno Martins (NUMA, Portimão), who will serve bonito tuna on brioche with cucumber, orange and oyster mayonnaise. Rui Sequeira (Alameda, Faro) will also be present with his steamed bun filled with black pork neck and sea mayonnaise, while Wilson Costa (Amendoeira Clubhouse, Alcantarilha) will prepare mackerel with tomato, coriander and white sauce.
Chefs from some of Lisbon’s new eateries will bring their skills down from the capital. On Saturday the 20th, as part of the seafood highlights, Pedro Monteiro from Tasca Baldracca will prepare sardines in batter with pickled onions and fried bread. On that day, the menu also includes mussels on toast with chilli and aioli by British chef Shay Ola (Queimado, Costa da Caparica), a salad of green beans, crustaceans, barnacles and fried kingfish by chef André Cruz, who recently took over the kitchen at Feitoria (Lisbon), and a surprising Iberian pork Bao “bulgogi” with smoked celery root remoulade and aigrette sauce by Milton Anes (Bica do Sapato, Lisbon).
On Sunday, Paulo Carvalho, chef at O Zagaia and O Batel in Sesimbra, will delight foodies with his cuttlefish croquettes with black garlic, and António Galapito (Prado, Lisbon) will turn a simple sardine toast with parsley and lard into an exquisite dish.
Flavours from the four corners of the world will also “perk up” the streets of Portimão. On Saturday, Bernardo Agrela (West Mambo, Lisbon) will make his Lamb Kebab 2.0, and João Augusto (Vila Bica, Lisbon) will bring a taste of Asia with his chicken satays with peanut and sambal chilli sauce.
On Sunday, nomadic chef Alessandra Borsato will prep her arepas filled with cornbread, pork neck, nectarine chimichurri and Azorean cheese, while Italian Silvio Armanni (Libertà, Lisbon) goes back to his roots to prepare “Casoncelli alla Bergamasca”, homemade beef ravioli, pancetta, sage, butter and parmesan.
There are also several sweet options to finish off the evening’s tasting. On Saturday, Micael Duarte (Ofício, Lisbon) presents a Dirty Cookie, and on Sunday, chef Luís Gaspar (Sala de Corte, Lisbon) will prepare a dessert with Algarve figs, almonds and yoghurt.
This year’s novelties include a dining area, a Farmers’ Market showcasing some of the region’s best products, and a cashless payment system with several card purchase and charging points. As in previous editions, every dish will cost six euros and admission to the event remains free.
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