The Municipal Auditorium of Esposende hosted the session to hand out Diplomas, Souvenirs and Prizes to participants in the 25th edition of the “March with Flavors of the Sea” 2024 initiative. The Camelo restaurant, in Apúlia, won the first prize – Gastronomic Quality – from the “Flavors of the Sea” Gastronomic Competition, with the dish “Lamprey roasted in the oven”.
The event took place throughout the month of March at participating restaurant units.
In this twentieth edition of the competition, second place is shared by the restaurants Água-pé, which competed with “Porkfish fillet with seafood rice”, and “Pedrinhas”, which presented “Sea bass rice with clams”.
The restaurant “Varandas do Cávado – Hotel Suave Mar” ranked third, with the dish “Robalo
confit with passion fruit aromas”.
The evaluation of the 14 dishes/restaurants in the competition was carried out by the jury presided over by oenophile José Silva and also made up of chefs António Alexandre and Álvaro Costa, and journalists António Catarino and Francisco Gil, who justified these distinctions with the “quality of the preparation of the dish, excellence of the genres, presentation and taste”.
The “Breakthrough Professional Chef of Sabores do Mar” Award was given to António Campos, from the “Dona Quina” restaurant, for his dedication and professionalism, and the “Especial Career” Award to Manuel Pereira, from the “Casa Salé” restaurant, for 45 years dedicated to the kitchen.
The “Dona Quina” restaurant won the “Sustainability at the Table” Award, for the use of “endogenous products in accordance with KM0 and circular economy commitments, thus supporting local producers and defending the origin of the ingredients used to prepare the dish”.
The “Traditional Cuisine” Award went to the “Salitra” restaurant, for defending traditional dishes that “are part of the local gastronomic culture”.
As a form of recognition of her longevity, assiduous participation in the Gastronomic Competition, and, as a tribute, the Jury decided to create the “Rita Fangueira” Award.
In a statement, the municipality indicates that, with the objective of “stimulating and continuing new business”, this edition celebrates the restaurants “A Taborra” and “Gula Steak House”.
With regard to honorable mentions, “Varandas do Cávado was distinguished for Accompaniment (wine), “Água-pé” for Quality of Service, “Gula Steak House” for Environment, “A Taborra” restaurant for Hygiene, “Dona Quina” for Innovation and “Rita Fangueira” for Price Quality.
As for the “Jovem Cozinheiro dos Sabores do Mar” competition, promoted in partnership with the Esposende Professional School and aimed at students in the restaurant and kitchen area, the first prize was awarded to students Gabriel Carvalho, Beatriz Alves and Torcato Figueiredo, the second prize to students João Ferreira, Benjamim Massi and Luís Soares and third prize to Duarte Azevedo, Beatriz Nunes, Carlos Vilas Boas and Inês Sobral.
Regarding the “Sustainable School Cantinas with Flavors of the Sea” Competition, the first prize was awarded to Escola Básica do Facho, for the dish “Caldeirada de Peixes da nos costa”, which also won an honorable mention for the Promotion of the consumption of local products and seasonal, food education and encouragement to reduce food waste.
The Escola Básica de Apúlia ranked second, with the dish “Hake and mushroom lasagna with vegetables”, having also received an honorable mention for Nutritional requirements – product quality. Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Esposende received the third prize, for the dish “Filet of horse mackerel colored with beetroot, rustic potatoes and broccoli crumbs” and an honorable mention for the Incentive to reduce food waste and for the Presentation.
Still in terms of honorable mentions, Escola Básica António Correia de Oliveira was distinguished for its incentive to consume vegetables; the Escola Básica de Forjães for Flavor and encouraging the consumption of vegetables; the Mar Youth Social Center for encouraging the reduction of food waste, Innovation and Promotion of the consumption of local and seasonal products; the Curvos Social Center for the Reformulation of the recipe with incentives for the consumption of vegetables and fish; the Gandra Social Center for Innovation and flavor and Promotion of the consumption of local and seasonal products; the Cultural and Social Intervention Center of Palmeira de Faro for Good hygiene and food safety practices, Promotion of the consumption of local products and Commitment and dedication; and the Escola Básica de Gulheta for the Presentation, Encouragement of the consumption of vegetables and Food Education. Regarding the Fish Chef competition, aimed at students in the 3rd Cycle of Basic Education in the municipality, the first prize was awarded to Ana Casais and Joana Pontes, from Escola Básica de Apúlia for the dish “Açorda de Ovas”.
Ângela Sá and Teresa Diana, from Escola Básica António Rodrigues Sampaio, won second place with the dish “Arroz de Gambas com tacos de ray”, Inês Vilarinho and Margarida Marques, from Escola Secundaria Henrique Medina, achieved third place, with “ Baked cod with cornbread.”
Also awarded were Tomás Torres and Mafalda Araújo, from Escola António Correia de Oliveira, who placed fourth with the dish “Beurre blanc with fine herbs and salmon roe”, and Matilde Marques, Mafalda Almeida and Rodrigo Costa, from Escola Básica de Forjães, who won fifth place with the dish “Dourada com baked potato”.
“Extremely satisfied” was how the mayor of Esposende declared himself in light of the 25th anniversary of “March with Flavors of the Sea”, a feeling justified by the involvement, scope and dynamics created around the event.
The event’s trajectory is condensed in the book “25 anos do Março com Sabores do Mar”, which was presented at the session by the technician responsible for the City Council’s tourism service, José Costa, a session where the retrospective film was also presented.
Saluting the mentors of the initiative, he particularly mentioned Albino Penteado Neiva, former councilor of the Municipality present at the session, and the late Chief Silva and Francisco Sampaio, charismatic leader of the Alto Minho Tourism Region.
As a retrospective, Benjamim Pereira highlighted the growth and evolution recorded over the years, which made this event a reference in the gastronomic context of the north of the country. Innovation, which has always been associated with “March with Flavors of the Sea”, and the “high quality” of local products, from fish and seafood to vegetables, including sweets and wines, contributed to this success.
“Due to the excellence of its gastronomy, Esposende undoubtedly offers a differentiating experience, highlighted the mayor, noting that the municipality has many other attractions, which make this territory a destination, whether for visiting, working or establishing residence, as evidenced by the data that position Esposende as the second fastest growing municipality in the north zone”, reads the note from the municipality.
In an incisive intervention, the Mayor of the City Council highlighted the “vigor and brilliance” of the restaurant sector in the municipality and congratulated businesspeople for joining this Municipality initiative, which is seen as an incentive to boost the local economy and with a proven impact economic.
Likewise, he highlighted the involvement of the school community in this initiative, within a more comprehensive framework oriented towards sustainability and the fight against food waste, among several others.
strands.
Benjamim Pereira concluded the speech by congratulating the winners and everyone who joined, collaborated and got involved in the initiative, and gave special thanks to the Esposende Senior Choir, for their performance at the opening of the session.
The vice-president of the Regional Tourism Entity of Porto and North of Portugal (TPNP), Cancela Moura, praised the Municipality for holding “March with Flavors of the Sea”.
He stated “that it is the best example of a territory with an Atlantic vocation that combines synergies between gastronomy and traditions, between history and culture, between heritage and the collective memory of a territory”.
He also added that “it is an initiative that aims to boost tourism and counter the seasonality of tourism in this region”, whose added value is based on the “transversality of initiatives and the dimension and universe that it ends up covering”. Cancela Moura welcomed the longevity of the event, noting that “it has been 25 years of success”, and congratulated the Municipality and everyone who contributed to it.
The head of TPNP highlighted the “quality trait” that Esposende assumes in the tourism context, particularly in terms of the strategic gastronomy/wine product, noting that the municipal territory scores points in several other aspects. He noted Esposende’s “significant contribution to the region, which allowed us to celebrate in 2023 the best year ever in tourism, with seven million guests, 13 million and 300 thousand overnight stays, one billion euros in results and a growth of more than 48 % compared to the previous year”.
The president of the jury of the gastronomic competition “Março com Sabores do Mar”, oenophile José Silva, reiterating what he had said in the event’s presentation, highlighted the positive evolution of Esposende’s restoration. “This year was the most difficult of all for the jury to make decisions,” he said, noting that “of the 14 competing restaurants there was none below Good and there were many Very Good.”
José Silva considers that this reflects “the desire of Esposende’s traditional restaurants to do better and better”. Noting that the role of the jury is to provide constructive criticism, he welcomed the good acceptance of restaurants towards evolution, which ends up being reflected in the creation of new dishes.
The president of the jury was pleased with the addition of new restaurants to the competition, many of which were “in the hands of young people”, a fact that he attributed to the involvement of younger generations in the world of gastronomy, particularly through events such as “March with Flavors of the Sea”.
Finally, he mentioned that the career longevity of some professionals in the sector also deserves mention and, in this context, he recalled chef Silva and Francisco Sampaio, as well as Albino Penteado Neiva, as the main driver of this event.
