Interview with chef José Avillez

Will you reveal a secret? How does your everyday dinner at home look like?

On a daily basis I don’t cook at home but on weekends I love to gather family and friends around the table. We have amazing products and we Portuguese love to share food and stay at the table for hours, so it’s a joy.

What’s a must-try dish when visiting Portugal?
So many…well grilled fresh fish with just a pinch of salt, a carabineiro (please eat the head, that amazing juice is the best part), codfish with an amazing olive oil, Alentejo pork, pastel de nata…and I could go on, and one. Portuguese cuisine is really amazing. If you’re a food lover you will be delighted.

Do you have a favorite time of year or set of ingredients that you look forward to working with?
I love the fish and the seafood from the Portuguese coast. I do think it’s the world’s best.

What’s the dish that you always want to have another....and another bite?
Bacalhau à Brás, one of my favorite dishes. Bacallhau à Brás is made from shredded cod cooked with onion, garlic, eggs, shoestring fried potatoes, parsley and olives. You can try it at Bairro do Avillez. For me it’s the perfect comfort food dish.

Belcanto restaurant in Lisbon

What are your top 3 restaurants in your home city, Lisbon?
Difficult to say, my restaurants are on top for me and I choose Belcanto, Encanto (vegetarian fine dining restaurant with fixed menu where we recently on a Michelin star) and maybe Mini Bar for the surprise and entertainment or Cantinho do Avillez which is very special to me and where I serve a Portuguese cuisine with influences from abroad.

Other choices: I would say Alma from my friend Henrique Sá Pessoa, Goju a Japanese restaurant and Zé da Mouraria, a very traditional and very informal restaurant for lunch.

What are your 3 favorite restaurants in Portugal?
Not an easy choice for someone who loves to eat….I love Ocean that has 2 Michelin stars and I love Noélia, both in the Algarve. I love Alma in Lisbon also with 2 stars and I love Mar do Inferno in Cascais that serves good seafood….

Which restaurant in the world you would recommend visiting for our subscribers?

Belcanto, of course. I do think Portuguese cuisine is one of the worlds best. It’s a pleasure to spread the word about our culture and our cuisine and see how amazed our guests are after their meals.

Would you come to Lithuania for a pop dinner?

I’m working on two new projects: one a fish and seafood restaurant by the ocean in Cascais and the other is a stunning property by Alqueva’s riverside to be rented as a single property with full board. After these two launches who knows…

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