When I arrived at the press briefings for the MICHELIN Guide Ceremony for Portugal 2023, I was pleasantly surprised.
The reception area was full of very well-dressed and important-looking people and there was an array of drinks and tempting food provided to nibble at while being introduced to members of the câmara, chefs and organisers of the event. In short, this was an impressive publicity campaign by Michelin for an event announced in June last year.
The objective of the briefing was simply to update us on a few changes and additions to the main event that, at the time of writing, was to take place at NAU Salgados Palace & Congress Centre in Guia, Albufeira on 27 February. The two principal Michelin star chefs João Oliveira and Dieter Koschina will oversee the dinner, which will be prepared by a selection of Algarve chefs included in the guide. The other key announcement that drew excitement from the audience was that television presenter, actress and author Catarina Furtado had been appointed as the host for the ceremony. So why all the fuss?
The first reason is that up until now, Portugal has always been included in a guide alongside Spain and so this event will mark the launch of the first MICHELIN Guide dedicated solely to Portuguese restaurants. And the second reason is that the Algarve was chosen to be the host, rather than the more obvious choice of Lisbon where some of the country’s top restaurants are found.
André Gomes, Presidente do Turismo do Algarve, made the best of the opportunity and spoke about the importance of this recognition for the region and how it would enhance the visibility of Portuguese gastronomy. Clearly, this ambition is important for Algarve tourism, because an open debate about the value of gastronomy to tourism was taking place at the Museu de Portimão on 6 February.
One of the restaurant owners from Quinta do Lago commented on whether the debate would include the possible adverse effect on restaurants that are equally deserving of appreciation but have not been recognised for the guide.
But whether, like me, you are a lover of basic Algarvian fare or whether you are more of a fine diner, it was certainly a huge positive to see the Algarve included in an event intended to celebrate the gastronomy of Portugal.
Photo © www.facebook.com/GuiaMichelinPT
