Living in Portugal for the last 7 years has made me think how little information is available about sourcing products, services etc..    For example, where can you buy shellfish? Where are the quality craftsmen?

Restaurants – where are the ones we would actually like to eat in, the Michelin guide and others are very poor in Portugal and once outside Lisbon just mention the typical restaurants which, although their ingredients can be excellent, all have much the same menus – very traditional Portuguese.  In the Alentejo, this does include a lot of oil, garlic, potatoes and rice all on the same plate!  But there are exceptions with brilliant, imaginative cooking.  I will be blogging about the ones we have found.

Cooking – the fresh meat and fish here is fantastic. However, the Portuguese way of cutting it is very different so we have to travel to Lisbon to stock up on our type of cuts (haven’t found a local supplier yet).  And beware the chickens!  Many are huge.  Same with vegetables – in Portugal bigger is better.  Fish is unbeatable – just go to Setubal market.