Mito no Porto is a reference in signature cuisine, with its boldness and unapologetically Portuguese gastronomic creativity.
What is the role of fermentation in your kitchen?
Fermentation is something recent in my kitchen. Due to the size of the team, and the rhythm we had initially with lunches and dinners, I never felt comfortable entering this field. We did some more basic things, punctual, for more different lunch menus, or one or another event, but never by routine on the menu. During the pandemic, we had a phase where we were turning some delicious burgers and playing with tepache. We managed to fine-tune the recipe, after some bottles popped out, and bottled it to sell it in takeaway, it was a success. After this, with the growth of the team, not only in number but also in its technical individuality, as well as the fact that we closed lunches, it allowed us to have more time and space to do new things, one of them was fermentation. Since then we have always had one or another fermented element, more in the spring and summer menus.
When did you first hear about kombucha?
A few years ago, I don’t know how to locate it, but about 7 or 8 years ago, I still didn’t have the Myth. And I confess, I didn’t like it at all the first time I tasted it! But I tasted some fruitier ones made by Nuno Castro and then I started to explore a little more. In fact, before that, we even did it in the Myth, but we couldn’t get it right!
Why did you decide to integrate Aquela Kombucha into your gastronomic offer?
When I tasted your Kombuchas I really liked it, a good balance in acidity and sweetness, natural, which many bottled ones do not pass that side, they are too industrialized. At the time I was wanting to remove the soft drinks, and I found here the perfect solution, non-alcoholic, tasty and with gastronomic potential. The entry of Kombuchas was one of the steps I took when I decided that the Myth had to be more concise.
What is your favorite AK and why?
It’s not easy to choose, my favorite may vary ahahah…. But definitely the Hard range has been amazing and I won’t forget the first bottle of Hard Melon Oak Bark! This one will be marked, from the first touch on the nose, to the peppery on the mouth. Bright! Of course, I lost all credibility now in changing soft drinks for Kombuchas and my favorite being the alcoholic ones, but it was really an incredible surprise!
