Some of the most successful food products are not built around the most prestigious cut. They are built around transformation. In Calabria, ’nduja is a remarkable example. Pork, fat and a generous amount of local chile are transformed through seasoning, fermentation and curing into something completely different from a conventional salami: intensely red, spicy, fatty and, above all, spreadable. Once a humble way of making use of the pig, ’nduja has become an internationally r

It is wine harvest season in Alentejo and I traveled to Monsaraz to visit São Lourenço do Barrocal. I expected a beautiful Alentejo property. What I found was one of the clearest examples I have encountered of what agritourism and gastrotourism in the region can become. Because Barrocal is not simply a hotel surrounded by agriculture. The agriculture is part of the experience. José António Uva, the eighth generation of his family at Barrocal, had the vision to bring a histori

Last week, I travelled to Barrancos, at the eastern edge of the Alentejo, to visit Casa do Porco Preto (Barrancarnes – Transformação Artesanal, SA.) I went there with one thing in my mind, how Portugal can create more value around one of its great food traditions (presunto) and help preserve the ecosystem behind it. During my visit, our conversation with João moved from Porco Alentejano and the montado to maturation, changing consumer habits and an idea I particularly liked: