WRITING
FOREWORD
by Michelin Star Chef José Avillez
"Far from your typical culinary tome or collection of trendy recipes, this is a book about people, lives, dreams, and desires. It's a book about identity and culture, a journey through Bolhão Market, one of the most emblematic food markets in Portugal—a discovery of local flavors and life stories."
ABOUT THE BOOK
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Since the nineteenth century, Bolhão Market in Porto has been the culinary hub of Northern Portugal, where farmers, fishermen, and artisan food producers have gathered to sell their products and swap their stories in the open air. Due to the rise of chains and supermarkets, the number of vendors has slowly dwindled, and the market’s walls have crumbled into disrepair—yet it still pulses with a profound gastronomical heritage guarded by octogenarian grandmothers.
Locals and tourists with a renewed interest in artisan products and organic produce have started to visit Bolhão Market in greater numbers, but its fate remains in question. Following decades of neglect, local government has promised to revitalize the market. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that its hallmark grandmothers can afford to return, or that a piece of the market’s Old-World charm will not be lost.
That’s why Gabriella Opaz and Sonia Andresson Nolasco have preserved these local women’s stories and recipes in Porto, a heartfelt portrait of a place as told by the people keeping its legacy alive. Divided into chapters that highlight the staples on a Northern Portuguese table, this book introduces one of the world’s richest, though often overlooked, culinary regions. It also provides invaluable advice for what to see, do, and taste when you visit.
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EVENTS:
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TBD
More to come soon!
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PRESS:
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Recent Press for Porto: Stories from Portugal's Historic Bolhão Market:
Brooklyn Based, 6/3/18
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Other Food & Travel Writing:
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"This book is a visual and gustatory hymn to the honest, simple foods of Northern Portugal as well as a portrait of the proud and welcoming vendors of Bolhão Market who
sell and cook it. Flipping through its pages, I felt a tremendous sense of saudades—an indescribable longing—for my
adopted country."
— David Leite, author of The New Portuguese Table
and Notes on a Banana
"This book is a wonderful culinary journey through the history of Bolhão Market, the city of Porto, and the little-known wonderful recipes of Northern Portugal. An exploration and delicious education rolled into one, this book is a must have and deserves to be part of one’s Portuguese culinary library. It certainly will be part of mine."
— Ana Patuleia Ortins, author of Portuguese Homestyle Cooking and Authentic Portuguese Cooking