A selfish perspective

At this point, I think it is important to tell you a little bit about what moves us. What motivated us and led us to create this project. I decided to make from a sort of a selfish point of view… by sharing with you only my perspective.

I have been living in Portugal for many years and in my growing knowledge of this eclectic country, one of the things that enchanted me the most was to discover that we are a land of high quality makers. Local traditions, recipes and production methods that have been passed on from fathers to sons, mothers to daughters, grandparents to grandchildren, people that care and understand the land and who attempt to work in harmony with nature.

Even now, I can always feel the taste of the sweet pumpkin jam paired with creamy goat cheese on a crunchy toasted corn bread that I always had during my childhood…

In my many travels to the countryside, it was remarkably clear to me how the concept of family is woven into the cheeses, sausages, honeys, wines among many other products.  The most astonishing part is that this characteristic is mirrored into all the regions in Portugal from Minho to the Algarve and even in our stunning islands – Açores and Madeira. Communities are involved from scratch to finish in the whole process of creation and while the quantities are often small, this only ensures their uniqueness.

I have always been amazed by how little villages manage to be so sustainable in their production, doing it on their own, with great quality and standing proud. This is a message that we would love to share.

In Made in Portucale, we are collecting history, a piece of heart, part of a soul or even a dream… and, for sure, a small fraction of our great love for this beautiful country.

From Jessica, with love…to the world!