The smell and appearance whet the appetite and the taste buds of teachers and students confirm what other senses have indicated. The mackerel dish that students from the Cooking Course at Escola João da Rosa, in Olhão, just cooked was a success and received the approval of those who tasted it, including those responsible for its preparation.
The school from Olhano was one of the points chosen by Docapesca for the Cavala Campaign, an initiative that aims to make this species of cheap fish, very nutritious and abundant in Portuguese waters known, as well as promote its consumption.
In this case, the campaign is associated with the “I Mostra de Sabores de Olhão”, an event organized by the municipality that brings together dozens of restaurants in the municipality. Each of the participating establishments offers, until Sunday, a main dish or starter made from fresh or preserved mackerel.
At the same time, Docapesca promotes a program that aims to boost the consumption of mackerel with the local population and the general public. After having been in schools in Olhão and Fuseta on Tuesday and Wednesday, Docapesca will teach creative ways to cook mackerel in the Municipal Market of Olhão, today and tomorrow, with Heads of the Algarve Hotel and Tourism School. Classes are free and take place between 10 am and 12 pm and those interested must register at the municipal market.
One way to promote mackerel that has been bearing fruit, as revealed by chef José Domingos, a professor at the Algarve Hotel and Tourism School. «Last year it was noticed that there was greater sale of mackerel. This is a cheap fish, very nutritious, that can be made in many ways, not just the traditional one, which is to cook it with oregano. People are delighted to taste other flavors and learn about other techniques and this leads to a greater consumption of mackerel, which is the objective», revealed the Algarve chef, to the Sul Informação.
«This is the continuation of work that began last year by the Chamber of Olhão and Docapesca to promote mackerel. We hope to have the same success this year as we had last year, with the particularity that we are also including schools in this joint work», he added.
José Domingos spoke to our newspaper on the sidelines of the action he directed at Escola João da Rosa, where he directed a cooking class at this EB 2,3 from Olhano. “At the Hotel School, we are also trying to boost and encourage consumption. Our students are young, many of them used to fast food. Here, in this class, there were some students who said they didn't like fish, but after tasting the confection we used here, they told me they're going to eat more mackerel and other fish», he said.
Rui Vale is one of the students who turned up his nose at the fish, but who liked the mackerel dish made during the action that the Algarve chef directed. "It was good!" he said. This was the first time that the young man from Olhano cooked this species of fish and, despite the fact that the dish he made changed his way of looking at this type of delicacy, it did not awaken the culinary “bug”. "I'm not thinking of pursuing a career as a cook", he confessed, without hiding some shyness, when talking to the Sul Informação.
Like Rui Vale, the other students in the Cooking class at João da Rosa School in Olhão smile with embarrassment and try to walk away from the reporter, but do not refuse to speak when approached. And as José Domingues pointed out, there are those who have the talent and vocation to be able to become a chef one day.
«I had never tried cooking fish, it was the first time. At home, I only cook meat. But I think I'll try making this dish at home», said Ana Catarina, a student who intends to continue her studies in this area. «It was funny to meet chef Domingos one day at the Hotel and Tourism School», confessed Ana Catarina, also a student of João da Rosa.
The program that Docapesca designed to accompany the Olhão Flavors Show also foresees a meeting dedicated to the theme "Fish Consumption and Health Benefits", with interventions on nutritionism and health, which takes place today, Thursday, at 17 pm, in the Auditorium of the Parish Council of Olhão (Agadir Square).
Tomorrow, Friday, Sociedade Recreativa Olhanense will be the stage for a set of activities about the sea, aimed at children and young people, «Experience the Sea», promoted by EMEPC – Mission Structure for the Extension of the Continental Shelf, in collaboration of the Living Science Center of Faro. The actions take place from 9 am to 18 pm, with a break between 13 pm and 14 pm.
The Cavala Campaign is developed within the scope of the CCL – Proof of Purchase in Auction project, co-financed by the PROMAR program. The objective of CCL is to contribute to the qualitative and quantitative valuation of fish and, consequently, to the sustainability of resources, to increase the profitability of the Fisheries sector in Portugal and the remuneration of our fishermen.
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