Members of the Algarve Bailliage of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs and their guests met last Friday evening (May 29) at the charming restaurant O Leão de Porches to celebrate the much-awaited reopening of restaurants in Portugal and to show support for our professionals in these difficult times. In accordance with the current rules, the number of participants was limited, and the sitting carefully spaced!
O Leão de Porches is the twin restaurant of our Chaîne member Bon Bon in Carvoeiro, which boasts a Michelin star, and the owner and manager Bianca Salden served us a fantastic dinner in the outside patio:
three amuse-bouches with a sparkling Chardonnay “Poço do Lobo” from the Bairrada region, followed by a surprising salad of beetroot, fresh cheese and pickled cauliflower with a “Muros Antigos”, a Loureiro white wine from the Vinho Verde region – a perfect match!
The dinner continued with a filet of sole dressed with a buttery sauce on a bed of red quinoa, which was nicely complemented by a rare wine from the Alentejo, “Vinho do Tareco”, produced the traditional way in clay pots. The main course was duck breast served rare with wild rice, baby carrots and a blueberry sauce, perfectly matched with a “Vinha du Putto” a solid red wine from the Bairrada region.
And for dessert, a “semifrio” of sweet-rice with a cinnamon mousse and lemon jelly served with a “Grandjó Meio-Doce”, a semi-sweet wine from the Douro region made from Viosinho, Moscatel and Gewürztraminer grapes.
This memorable dinner finished with coffee and delicious petits-fours and the participants were presented, as a souvenir, with a protection visor stamped with the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs logo, ideal to go gourmet shopping!
A great event, a great dinner, great company, and our thanks go to Bianca Salden and her Chef Marisa Alface, as well as to the participants for showing their dedication to gastronomy and conviviality.
Our next meeting will be a lunch at Arte Náutica at Armação de Pêra beach on June 20.
For more information about the Chaîne, contact Jean Ferran on 282 912 822 or email [email protected]
http://portugal.chainedesrotisseurs.com
By JEAN FERRAN
