Madeiran products

The Cephs and Chefs team from the University of Aveiro participated in two events of valorization of Madeiran products. The events took place at the Terreiro Concept restaurant, at Madeira island. The project “Legado” promoted, on October 16th, the “Legado do Peixe” dinner that included 7 gastronomic moments with traditional Madeiran products such as flying squid, ray, conger, moray, herring, nun, skipjack, mackerel and even Madeira jackfruit and seaweed, in addition to wine degustation and comments by the specialist Nuno Nobre and the chef Carlos Gonçalves. On Saturday, October 17th, World Food Day, an Open Gastronomic Day was carried out to celebrate Madeira’s biodiversity in all its ecosystems: farm, rivers, forest and sea. The event included lectures, debates, workshops and tasting products from the 4 ecosystems. More information on the website: https://terreiroconcept.com/eventos/

Exploring sustainability across the octopus value chain in Galicia, Asturias and the Algarve

Octopus is increasingly a global commodity, with landings and trade increasing worldwide. The octopus fishery is of extremely economic and social importance in Galicia (Spain) and the Algarve (Portugal), with a vast artisanal fleet using pots and traps dedicated exclusively to catching this species in both locations. The Cephs and Chefs teams from USC and UAVR are carrying out studies to better understand the value chain of the common octopus Octopus vulgaris in Galicia and Asturias (Spain), and the Algarve (Portugal). We held a one-day workshop in Santiago de Compostela (Galicia) on March 7th 2020 with key fisheries stakeholders including representatives from the professional and recreational fishing sectors, the wholesale and retail sectors, and the scientific, administrative and community sectors to discuss sustainable use of the octopus resource. In September, we carried out semi-structured interviews in the Algarve with similar key fisheries stakeholders to discuss the same topics.. The results will identify market drivers and barriers for the achievement of environmental, social and economic sustainability of activities carried out by people involved throughout the octopus value chain from fishers

Workshop in Santiago de Compostela

Interviews in the Algarve

Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on octopus fisheries in the Algarve

The coronavirus outbreak is impacting the global economy, including the fishing sector. The Cephs and Chefs team from UAVR is evaluating the economic, social and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the octopus fishing activity and seafood value chain in Portugal, as well as the adaptation measures implemented by the industry to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. Semi-structured interviews with representatives of fishing organizations (POs, associations, fishers, etc.) were carried out in the Algarve, Portugal in March.

 

Food of the Edge 2019

The Cephs and Chefs team from GMIT and ARVI participated in the Food of the Edge 2019. Food on the Edge is a two-day symposium that takes place annually in Galway city, Ireland. It is for chefs & food enthusiasts all around the world who want to create a better global network. Food on the Edge 2019 took place in Galway the 21st and 22nd October 2019. During this festival the Cephs and Chefs project was presented to the attendees.

New cephalopod products tasting at “CESAM day 2019”

The UAVR team, together with IPMA, presented the new cephalopod products developed by IPMA under the scope of INTERREG Cephs and Chefs, in an event at the University of Aveiro. The CESAM day 2019 held 200 participants. The tasting of new cephalopod products (boiled common and horned octopuses, smoked common octopus) was followed by a survey to understand consumer acceptance to the mentioned cephalopod products.

INTERREG Cephs and Chefs participates in the Children’s Day in Lourinhã

As part of the INTERREG Cephs and Chefs project, the University of Aveiro established a protocol with the City Council of Lourinhã, in order to collaborate in several events related to the Octopus Gastronomic Fortnight of Lourinhã. On the 2nd of June, Sílvia Monteiro and Fábio Matos (UAVR team) were present at the Children’s Day event organized by the City Council of Lourinhã with the educational activity “Polvos: os troca-tintas!”, which contributes to increase ocean literacy. This educational action consisted of different octopus-related activities, including a didactic quiz with curiosities about the biology, sustainability and fishing of this species, puzzles and paintings related to common octopus.

The project INTERREG Cephs and Chefs will be present at the 3rd edition of the “Octopus Week” at Quarteira

The project INTERREG Cephs and Chefs will be present at the 3rd edition of the “Octopus Week” to be held at Quarteira, from the 7th to the 16th of September. This event will include a visual art exhibition, gastronomic tasting in restaurants and a conference. The gastronomic exhibition of octopus recipes (traditional and new) will occur in 31 restaurants distributed across Quarteira and Vilamoura. The Cephs and Chefs team will be interviewing the owners of the restaurants in order to understand the reason for their participation in the “Octopus Week” and the acceptance rate of the octopus recipes by the consumers. Additionally, the INTERREG Cephs and Chefs project will be presented at the conference, on the 14th of September, where the aims, actions and the partners involved in the project will be revealed to a multi-target audience.