The showcooking is this Sunday, July 23. The confections combine regional products from Setúbal and Palmela.
Throughout the country, and in the most diverse areas, there are very talented young promises. One of them is very close to you, she is a chef, and she will be giving a showcooking at the Sant’Iago Fair. We are talking about Marta Nunes, 24 years old, born in Palmela, and already awarded internationally.
It is already next Sunday, July 23, at 8 pm, in the enogastronomic space of the enclosure, that Marta Nunes will transport the participants to a world of local flavors through divine creations. “My philosophy as a Palmela native and kitchen professional is always to use local and seasonal products and I am very happy that this invitation coincides with a time of year when there is so much good from the Palmela and Setúbal region”, confesses the young chef to NiS.
The showcooking takes place during the “Arrábida Territory Night” and there will be news. “I created a starter that combines land and sea, with the Sado oyster, which is a product used a lot in haute cuisine throughout the country and, of course, I could not miss the apple stripe”, a typical product of Palmela. So, get ready to taste the Sado oyster, striped apple and Palmela wine foam and also the fogaça crumble, striped apple and sheep cheese, accompanied by the wines of Adega de Palmela.
All the products presented at this event are endogenous and representative of the locality and the region. The showcooking will last approximately two hours. Participation is limited to 50 people and admission costs € 5, including the glass.
Almost five dozen is also the number of presentations that will exist during the 17 days of the Sant’Iago Fair. In this space that aims to boost all the gastronomy that enriches the region, as well as promote the importance of interculturality, there will be nights of French and also African food.
Marta Nunes is Godmother of the program “Palmela – Experiences with Flavor!”
Another invitation, right at the beginning of 2023, was made to the young chef by the Palmela City Council. The challenge was launched to be Godmother of the gastronomic promotion program “Palmela – Experiences with Flavor!”, For this year’s edition, which she accepted. It was for this same initiative, Marta told NiS, that she created the fogaça crumble and that it will be presented at the Setúbal event, on July 23.
It has been 24 years filled with several achievements. The most recent, in June, was the title of winner of the Awards of the Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Similar Services of Portugal (AHRESP) 2023, in the category of “New Talent”, thus elevating the representation of Palmela – and the entire territory.
Passionate about gastronomy, she began her career studying Cookery at the Hotel and Tourism School of Setúbal and then at the Hotel and Tourism School of Lisbon, where she completed the course in Kitchen Management and Production. In 2022, she won the Young Talent of Gastronomy Competition in the Young Professional Cooking Category and was part of the Portuguese National Team, which won two Bronze Medals at the World Culinary Championship.
Although she has grown and evolved as a professional, with recognition reaching beyond borders, Marta Nunes confesses that she never forgets her origins, nor the dish she likes most made by her grandmother. “As a child I hated food, I was the weirdest there was, and I don’t know how, suddenly, when it came time to choose the area in high school, cooking was an obvious choice and I started to look at food differently. My favorite thing isn’t even really a salad. It has grilled cod, green beans, garlic and coriander. Something basic, but when she makes it, it looks amazing,” the chef says.
The memories go further and even go through the Setubal event with more than 400 years. “I remember being little and going to the Sant’Iago Fair, when it was on Avenida Luísa Todi and it is almost a tradition to go there every year. It is increasingly reaching different audiences, whether for music, gastronomy, crafts and sports. It makes me very happy to show Setubalenses, and not only, what I like to do the most, the excellent products of the region and above all, being young, try to bring more young people to showcookings and activities of promotion and gastronomic development “, ends Marta Nunes.
The Sant’Iago Fair takes place from July 21 to August 6, at Sant’Iago Park, in Manteigadas. There are 17 days of festivities, music, entertainment and gastronomy, with the presence of more than three dozen groups, sports activities, a Book and Vinyl Fair area and also a space dedicated to animal adoption.