The long-awaited night will feature Portugal’s most celebrated restaurants and chefs, including many from the Algarve
The Michelin Guide galas have been held in Spanish cities since 2009, with the exception of 2018 when Lisbon hosted the event, and this year will mark the first time ever the event will take place in the Algarve.
The Portuguese-only Michelin gala will take place on February 27, 2024 at NAU Salgados Palace & Congress Centre in Guia, Albufeira.
Algarve chef João Oliveira, who has one Michelin star for his work at Vista in Praia da Rocha, Portimão, and two-Michelin-starred chef Dieter Koschina, from Vila Joya Restaurant in Albufeira, will be coordinating the team, which also features Hans Neuner (Ocean, Porches), José Lopes (Bon Bon, Carvoeiro), Libório Buonocore (Gusto by Heinz Beck, Quinta do Lago), Louis Anjos (Al Sud, Lagos), and Luís Brito (A Ver Tavira).
The Gala will be streamed live online and hosted by famous Portuguese TV presenters Catarina Furtado and Fernando Alvim, and around 500 people are expected to attend.
On Saturday, January 27, a special event will take place at Loulé’s municipal market as part of the Michelin-related festivities that began a month before the gala. Hosted by Luís Brito, the event will see the chef “creating a dish worthy of a Michelin star” using only the products available at the market.
Under the title “Algarve, the Taste of South Europe”, a promotional campaign was launched centred on three “fundamental elements influencing Algarvian gastronomy: mountains, sea, and estuaries”.
“For us, this is another very important moment that highlights gastronomy in our tourism promotion, not only on a regional but also national and international level,” said André Gomes, president of the Algarve Tourism Board (RTA).
Gomes also hailed the opportunity to showcase “the quality of our local products but also our infrastructures that make the Algarve a tourist destination of excellence”.
Hosting an event of this magnitude has given the Algarve a boost of “confidence and enthusiasm”, Gomes added, stressing that “it will be a privilege” to host the gala as well as all the culinary experts who will attend it. “We will welcome everyone with our hospitality,” he added.
Portugal received 45 Michelin stars in the Spanish and Portuguese edition of the 2023 Michelin Guide, with all the new Michelin-starred restaurants being located in Lisbon (Encanto, Kabuki Lisboa and Kanazawa) and Porto (Euskalduna Studio and Le Monument).
In the Algarve, Ocean (Porches) and Vila Joya (Albufeira) maintained their two-star status, while Vistas (Vila Nova de Cacela), Vista (Portimão), Bon Bon (Carvoeiro), Gusto by Heinz Beck (Almancil), Al Sud Palmares (Lagos) and A Ver Tavira (Tavira) held onto their one star.
Article originally published by Bruno Filipe Pires on Portugal Resident.
