The Algarve star chefs who will cook at the Michelin Gala are now known

Dieter Koschina, João Oliveira, Hans Neuner, José Lopes, Liborio Buonocore, Louis Anjos and Luís Brito are the seven starred “Algarve” chefs in charge of making dinner for the first “Michelin Star Revelation Gala – Portugal”, which takes place on the 27th of February, at the NAU Salgados Palace, in Albufeira. 

The names were announced this Tuesday, January 16th, at a conference held at the Solar da Música Nova Auditorium, in Loulé.

«The dinner aims to highlight and appreciate the richness, quality and diversity of the region's gastronomy and the talent of those who prepare it», highlighted Nuno Ferreira, representative of the Michelin Guide in Portugal.

At this conference, the person responsible also clarified that, due to the recent departure of chef Rui Silvestre from Restaurante Vistas, «thus ceasing to represent a restaurant in the Algarve region», chef Dieter Koschina will continue to be the coordinator, but now accompanied in the task by chef João Oliveira.

«These seven chefs, who have a total of nine Michelin stars, are the ones who are already working and planning an evening of excellent gastronomic level, which promises to be unforgettable», continued Nuno Ferreira.

In the words of João Oliveira, who has now taken on the role of chef coordinator of this gala, «we are proud to finally bring Michelin to Portugal».

Both João Oliveira and Dieter Koschina hope and believe that the event will be a success.

In addition to announcing the range of chefs who will be responsible for the banquet at Guia's first exclusively Portuguese gala, it was mentioned that Catarina Furtado will be the presenter of the ceremony, something that had already been made public in December, and that Fernando Alvim is chosen to receive guests on the red carpet.

Another novelty is that the Michelin Guide will activate, starting this week, an «important campaign» called “Algarve, the flavor of Southern Europe”, «with the aim of maximizing the visibility of the Algarve and Portugal, focused on three fundamental elements in influences of gastronomy in the region: the Mountains, the Sea and the Ria», highlighted Nuno Ferreira.

Furthermore, until the 27th of February, several initiatives will take place within the scope of the Gala, such as an action at the Loulé Market, a debate in Portimão and a competition in which the general public will have the opportunity to participate and win a ticket. duo to experience, live, the night of the ceremony and five gastronomic experiences in restaurants in the Michelin Guide of Portugal 2024.

The action at the Loulé Market takes place on the 27th of January and brings together a chef from the Michelin Guide region, Luís Brito, and a an influencer to create a dish with local products from the market.

The first debate of the gala, “The Value of Gastronomy in the Tourist Experience”, will take place on the 6th of February, at the Portimão Museum, will be moderated by TVI journalist Paulo Salvador, and will feature José Avillez, chef of the Belcanto restaurants (two MICHELIN Stars), Encanto (one MICHELIN Star) and Tasca by José Avillez (one MICHELIN Star); Marlene Vieira, chef at Zunzum Gastrobar (Bib Gourmand) and Restaurante Marlene (Recommended); Lídia Monteiro, Member of the board of directors of Turismo de Portugal; Rafel Tonon, journalist specializing in gastronomy, coordinator of the Master's Degree in Gastronomic Journalism and Communication at the Basque Culinary Center, in the Basque Country (Spain); João Wengorowius, passionate about gastronomy, founder and CEO of WB/Brand Strategy Advisory, and author of the book “We Chefs”; and Nuno Nobre, consultant in food culture and gastronomic tourism, professor at Universidade Lusófona, and project manager at the UN and the EU, as well as founder of the Ericeira International Sea Urchin Festival and the World Food Institute.

For Dália Paulo, municipal director of Loulé, it is «very important» for this municipality to host one of the events of the “Gala Michelin Star Revelation – Portugal”, «both for the work we do in the area of ​​tourism, and for identity and heritage».

«Gastronomy is culture, gastronomy is heritage and, therefore, this initiative aligns very well with what we do to promote our traditional products», he told the Sul Informação, remembering that Loulé already has a tradition of holding this type of event in the market, with “Chefs no Mercado”.

«Our visitors to the Loulé Market already know that, from time to time, we take gastronomy and chefs to the market, to also bring them closer to people and to publicize this distinction that we have in the region in terms of gastronomy and our products », he continued, stressing that these types of events in Loulé are always «very popular».

In the words of André Gomes, president of the Tourism Region, it is a «pride» for the Algarve to receive the first exclusive Portuguese Michelin Guide gala because «it is also a recognition of the quality and diversity of our gastronomic offer and of that which is the potential of gastronomy as a tourist attraction factor for destinations».

«The Algarve has very particular characteristics when it comes to its gastronomic culture, also based on the Mediterranean Diet, and as a result of this we have developed many projects, such as Algarve Craft & Food or Algarve Cooking Vacations, which we understand will come enrich the destination's offer throughout the year", he highlighted to Sul Informação. 

The president of the Algarve Tourism Region also reinforced the importance of this event taking place in February.

«We greatly value this type of action, even more so in a period called “low season”, and which contributes to our primary objective of combating seasonality and actually having tourism all year round».

«We want to believe that the fact that the gala is taking place in February is yet another recognition of the destination for its ability to attract highly respected and specific audiences, in a period that is not the busiest in the region», he concluded.

The first “Michelin Star Revelation Gala – Portugal” it will cost Turismo de Portugal 400 thousand euros.