Cultural Week of China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries | Chefs present their takes on Lusophone cuisine

GonçaloCaetano, Portugal

The 20th Lusofonia Festival is offering its usual diverse range of activities as part of the Cultural Week of China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries.

Organized by the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Forum Macau), this year’s festival has invited a group of chefs to present various culinary delicacies in Macau.

From October 14 to 18, chefs from several countries and regions will present the best of their respective homelands’ cuisine at Macau Tower’s Tromba Rija Restaurant.

Chef Marlon Lobo – who hails from Goa, India – will prepare beef olives with a special twist: traditional Goan gravy prepared with cumin, black pepper and other “secret” spices. He talked to the Times about the importance of showcasing Goan cuisine and the food he has brought to Macau; besides traditional dishes and desserts, he will also present a few modern Goan delicacies.

“I’m going to have a few takes on modern Goan cuisine too. For example, instead of the traditional potato croquette that usually has beef, I’ll be doing some using Goan chorizo and dates [which] make it spicy, sweet and crispy all at the same time,” he said, adding that there will be a few novelties to taste.

The chef has no doubts about the importance of displaying Goan cuisine in Macau.

Marlon Lobo, Goa

“Goa is the smallest state in India, literally a speck on the map, and our cuisine stands [out] from the rest of the country precisely because of the Portuguese influence. We definitely feel that now is the time to start evolving as the whole world is evolving in food,” Lobo said, adding that sharing and educating people about new dishes is important for the preservation of tradition as well as the modernization of the cuisine.

Sharing the same kitchen was Cape Verde representative, Chef Ângela Ferreira, cooking a Feijoada of “Congo” Beans, “Xerém” (a traditional corn flour-based dish) as well as a dessert that mixes salty and sweet, using Cape Verde’s “Queijo da Terra” (cheese) and a papaya jam.

Ferreira said she had chosen these traditional dishes to “represent my country in the best way possible.” She also noted that she felt it was important for her to bring traditional dishes, “so visitors [in Macau] can know more of our culture” – an approach that she thinks might even attract some of them to visit the country in future.

Angela Ferreira, Cape Verde

“People nowadays want to experiment and to know a lot of new tastes… and I think they will want to visit our country [through our gastronomy].”

Gonçalo Caetano, Resident Chef at Tromba Rija, said, “the adaptation is very easy as all of them speak Portuguese – with the exception of Chef Lobo who can’t speak much but that can understand – and also the ingredients and procedures are very similar and familiar.”

Caetano said that all the cuisines on display bear elements of their shared Portuguese origins, which is “then adapted [with] local features from the countries and places where they were developed so it is simple [to reproduce here].”

Chef Caetano sees in this event an opportunity to share and develop new ideas, as he says that something new always comes from these exchanges.

“We chefs are always looking for new flavors and possible [ways of] matching [ingredients and ideas] for new dishes,” he said.

Representing Macau is Chef Florita Alves, who promises to bring guests some of the “most wanted” Macanese dishes, such as the “Minchi,” “Xilicotes,” “Capela” and others.

“What we want [is] to have a little display of what is significant from Macanese cuisine, bringing the classics,” Alves said.

Alves added that there have been a few small adjustments to the dishes, especially to ingredients that are “a bit weird” to some taste buds, such as “balichão” – a shrimp paste that smells sharp and pungent to some.

Chef Alves will be using it in a traditional “Lacassá” soup, a popular Christmas dish.

The gastronomic showcase is one of the many important aspects of the Cultural Week celebration. It will be extended to the Taipa Houses-Museum until October 22, so that members of the public have more opportunities to try delicacies from various Portuguese-speaking countries.