A Taste of Portugal

Friday 30th January

Matteo Ferrantino -Vila Joya
Albufeira, Portugal
2 Michelin Stars

Dieter Koschina -Vila Joya
Albufeira, Portugal
2 Michelin Stars

Vitor Matos -Casa da Calcada
Amarante, Portugal
1 Michelin Stars

Jose Avillez -Belcanto
Amarante, Portugal
1 Michelin Stars

Miguel Laffan -L'And Vineyards Restaurant
Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal
1 Michelin Stars

View the Taste of Portugal Menu

TASTE PORTUGAL joins forces with OBSESSION for a dinner prepared by five of the very finest chefs and renowned ambassadors for Portuguese cuisine.

Austrian-born Dieter Koschina has been head chef at Portugal’s two Michelin starred Vila Joya since 1990 and was awarded his first star there in 1995. His contemporary cooking style centres on taste, colour, presentation and precise processing whilst his guiding culinary philosophy is: ‘First the flavour, then the presentation.

Working alongside Koschina at Vila Joya for the past seven years is Matteo Ferrantino who hails from Mattinata in Apulia in the south of Italy. Arriving in Portugal he believes he has found his place in life in the Algarve. ‘I have found what I like in my life: the food, the products... I seem to have found the right place for my tastes,’ he says.

Miguel Laffan has been executive chef at the L’AND restaurant in Montemor-o-Novo, Alentejo, since 2011. Describing his personal culinary philosophy, Laffan says: ‘For me, the freshness of the food is equally as important as the freshness of the mind – this is what really transforms the ingredients into great cuisine.’

Trained in Switzerland, Vitor Matos’s first job was at the Restaurant des Jeunes Rives in Neuchâtel. However, he soon followed his family back to Portugal and finally arrived at Casa da Calçada, where he now works, basing his cuisine on four key pillars: influences and memories, the quality of the products, a sensory component, and techniques and technology.

Finally, our fifth chef, José Avillez, often touted as Portugal’s new rising star. Born in 1979 in Cascais, west of Lisbon, Avillez’s memories are all centred on food. ‘Portuguese cuisine brings tears to my eyes,’ he says. ‘My life is cooking. I was born and raised in Cascais. The memory of being that close to the sea is very strong and is really a part of me, it defines me. I love creating dishes with the taste of the sea.’ Obssesion are bringing these five fine chefs together to produce a meal representative of a culinary tradition they are all passionate about is bound to produce something exceptional.