THE ORIGIN
One day, the sister of Chefs on Fire's executive producer, Gonçalo Castel-Branco, asked him if he could cook for her friends at her birthday party.
What he didn't realize was that he was going to cook for 60 people in a house in Alentejo., in a kitchen too small for the necessary service.
Gonçalo had never done anything like this, but he took eight legs of lamb, ten chickens, ten pianos, two bellies, pineapples, hung everything from trees and made a fire on the ground at four in the morning. Then he dug a hole in the ground and cooked 25 kg of vegetables, buried in the ground with heat.
This experience led Gonçalo to the conclusion that if he was able to do this, what would Chefs who really understood the subject do?
The relaxed atmosphere and complicity around the fire gave birth to the concept that became the Chefs on Fire festival, the combination of summer afternoons with friends, around the campfire, with good food, good music and good wine.
VISION
We believe that a festival can and should convey complicity and closeness. It must have an adequate scale, respecting the local community with the objective of having the smallest possible environmental footprint - and thus spreading to other events that follow this principle.
​
The unique event challenges the best national and international Chefs to cook with fire, smoke and firewood - around a 90m2 fire pit, to the sound of the best music. The food is prepared slowly for more than 24 hours with surprising recipes and savored in an environment.
​
This is the first successful boutique festival in Portugal - this year it will have its 5th edition and will tour the entire country in the Pop-Up format: a spin off of the original, more exclusive and intimate version that favors the best products and local producers.
​
3 ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS
FOOD
The best chefs are challenged to create the most surprising dishes.
FIRE
Each ingredient is cooked exclusively over a fire.
MUSIC
The best national music to complement the gastronomic experience.