The names of the dishes alone make your mouth water and, year after year, they have been calling more and more people to the São Brás de Alportel restaurants that adhere to the Quinzena Gastronomica. It is with local products and typical recipes that the mountain council intends to attract lovers of good food to the council again, at Easter time.
The fifth edition of the Quinzena Gastroómica de São Brás «Sabores do Caldeirão» starts next Tuesday, March 19, and lasts until April 1st. This year, the main novelty is the rise of the event to the heart of the Serra, with the inclusion of the Fortes restaurant, in Parises, the place chosen by the City Council of São Brás to present this year's edition.
As usual, the six establishments that joined the initiative will have a “Sabores do Caldeirão” proposal for two weeks, which includes a starter, a main course (there are always two options to choose from), a dessert and wine, which the organization , in charge of the local authority, determined that it will have to be from the Algarve.
This year, there are novelties in the list of partners of the municipality in the Quinzena Gastronómica, with the inclusion of the aforementioned Casa de Pasto Fortes, in Parises, and the restaurant O Marquês, in São Brás de Alportel. Casa de Pasto Adega Nunes and the restaurants 
Fonte da Pedra, Sabores do Campo and Ysconderijo are back on the list, as happened a year ago and, in some cases, since the first edition.
There is a lot of choice on the menu, which respects the principle of this gastronomic event of valuing tradition and the Mediterranean diet, as well as products from the municipality and the region. Those who choose to climb the mountain can still enjoy handcrafted and locally produced medronho brandy and honey.
Knowing the proposals of the six restaurants is an exercise that should be done with a full stomach and as far away from mealtime as possible. Otherwise, the reader is likely to feel compelled to go eat right away.
For starters, goat cheese is predominant, enriched with aromatic herbs, fruit sauce or honey, among several suggestions. A good example is the Dom Rodrigo goat cheese with raspberry sauce (Restaurant Sabores do Campo).
In the main dishes, there are suggestions for all tastes, from rabbit and thyme (Adega Nunes) to wild boar in the oven (Casa de Pasto Fortes), for meat, and cod à Marquês (O Marquês restaurant) and roasted octopus with puree of potatoes and sautéed sprouts (Fonte da Pedra Restaurant), for those who prefer sea flavors. On the menus, there is almost always a suggestion linked to the Easter season and the typical dishes associated with it, with many restaurants suggesting lamb dishes.
In desserts, imagination is almost always present and is well reflected in the names of the suggested sweet delicacies, such as the chocolate and carob mousse with arbutus sauce (Ysconderijo Restaurant) which is a good example.
The restaurants will be open on Easter Sunday, the day the Florida Torches Procession takes place, one of the most important traditions of São Brás de Alportel, which traditionally attracts thousands of visitors to the county.
«We chose this time to hold this event because it is linked to the great feast of Easter in São Brás. The Procession of the Florida Torches has unique characteristics and is a celebration that makes many people from Sambras proud, even those who are less believers. Since I was little I've made my torch and I'll sing hallelujah on Easter day», recalled the vice-president of São Brás City Council Vítor Guerreiro.
Mediterranean cuisine should be enjoyed calmly
The gastronomic event that São Brás de Alportel has been promoting for five years is based on the logic of Slow Food, a concept created in Italy in response to the mass arrival of the so-called Fast Food chains.
Basically, it is an appeal to the preservation of tradition, where the dishes are, as a rule, cooked with time and patience, in order to refine the flavors as much as possible and later enjoyed calmly, in a convivial atmosphere.
São Brás de Alportel has long adhered to this concept and also to the Slow Cities movement (Cittaslow in the original in Italian), an international organization that emerged from the Slow Food concept. In the Gastronomic Fortnight, the main principles of both movements are present.
“The initial criteria are still in place. One of the rules is that, whenever possible, local and seasonal products are used. We also encourage restaurants to use their own produce. There are already some who maintain small gardens», revealed the councilor of the São Brás City Council, Marlene Guerreiro, at the presentation of the event.
Respect for the principles of the Mediterranean diet, through the use of products associated with it, such as tomatoes, garlic, peppers and olive oil, as well as aromatic herbs, is another requirement. The organization also demands respect for the nutritional balance of the dishes presented.
And why not «gastronomic tour»?
The presentation of the fifth edition of the "Sabores do caldeirão" initiative was attended by Otília Eusébio, leader of the Slow Food Algarve movement, who promised that she would take the opportunity "to go on a gastronomic excursion" to São Brás and Serra do Caldeirão.
For Otília Eusébio, who last year was the godmother of the event, the concepts slow food e slow city they are fundamental to «value the typical gastronomy and, often, to rescue things that have already been lost».
“If we are careless, we will lose an extraordinary popular culture. Here at Serra there are people of incalculable value for the concept Slow Food», considered.
In this field, São Brás has been at the forefront and the mayor of the municipality António Eusébio is also president of the Cittaslow de Portugal association, formally established last December.
“Our concept is not just about tourism. By adopting the movement's criteria, we respect the traditions, heritage and legacy of the past. The basis is to make a difference to what the territories have to offer”, illustrated the mayor from São Paulo.
Proverbs can also help Slow Food concept
In 2013, the sponsor of the event is Rui Soares, the president of the International Association of Paremiology, which is dedicated to the collection and study of proverbs. And popular wisdom is often linked to gastronomy and the products we use to cook.
«I would like people here in Serra to spread the word more about local proverbs related to gastronomy. That they did it from a practical point of view, in various places, to illustrate the life cycles of various cultures», said Rui Soares.
In this way, they would make an important part of their tradition known to those visiting the territory, he believes.
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