The Minister of Economy warned this Tuesday, February 27th, that companies will be judged, in the future, by their commitment to sustainability, and that is “the great mantra” of tourism.
«Tourism, with the great mantra of investing in the sustainability of destinations, companies and their practices, is at the heart of the country's gastronomic experience», said António Costa Silva, speaking at the gala to present Portuguese restaurants awarded in the Michelin Guide Spain and Portugal 2024 which took place in Albufeira.
The governor left a warning: «we are not going to have any illusions. Companies will always be judged. There will be a kind of social license to operate and in the future they will be judged by their commitment to sustainability,” he said, commenting that gastronomy has already made this commitment.
The minister highlighted that tourism in Portugal is growing exponentially, with a record 30 million visitors last year and revenues of 25 billion euros – figures that represent an 11 percent growth in visits, but a greater increase ( 19%) in revenues, «something that had never happened before».
Reasons to “once again defend the quality and importance of this sector, against some detractors who continually try to diminish its importance for the national economy”.
Costa Silva also highlighted that Portugal has «the best gastronomic products» at national level, such as fish, seafood or olive oil, a «winning combination» that allows «reaffirming the role of gastronomy and, around it, all the leverage that creates for other sectors».
The minister expressed the wish that one of the announced Michelin stars would be awarded to a woman, but this did not materialize: the Portuguese selection of the 2024 guide awarded two stars to Antiqvv (chef Vítor Matos, Porto) and four new first stars to 2Monkeys restaurants ( Vítor Matos and Francisco Quintas, Lisbon); Desarma (Octávio Freitas, Funchal); Ó Balcão (Rodrigo Castelo, Santarém) and Sála (João Sá, Lisbon).
At the same ceremony, the international director of the Michelin Guide Gwendall Poullennec highlighted that today's ceremony – the first exclusively dedicated to Portugal – is “a historic moment”.
«It reflects our desire to give Portugal and its gastronomic panorama its own moment of celebration and exhibition and also illustrates the quality of the gastronomic panorama», he highlighted.
Michelin inspectors «have observed how the local culinary scene has developed and raised the bar», he commented.
“Originally recognized for its traditional cuisine based on excellent local products, or for its high-quality restaurants in famous hotels, the gastronomic scene is going through a period of development, diversification and memorable gastronomic prosperity,” said Poullennec.
In this year's guide, Portugal counts eight restaurants with two stars ('excellent cuisine, worth the detour'), 31 with one ('great cuisine, worth stopping by'), five restaurants with a green star (sustainable gastronomy), 32 Bib Gourmand (good value for money) and 98 recommended.
«We hope that the selection will encourage any gourmet, from local to international, to visit the country, while stimulating the sustainable development of the local gastronomic scene», highlighted the international director of the Michelin Guide.
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