reach out for a food consultation request: sarah.gall@gibs.at
project: food consultation, produce sourcing for marqi hotel.
stories and impressions: the hotel.
marqi on film.
about the project
about the food produce
personal moments and memories <3
about the project
I fell in love with Sintra three years ago. With its nature, forests, beaches, locals and produce. The most beautiful trees I have ever seen. Its climate makes it possible to grow greens and herbs all year round. a blessing. back then, we stayed in an intimate, secluded, beautiful hotel “marqi” of my friend Mikkel. the hotel reminds me of the movie “La piscine” . If you haven´t seen the movie you should watch it. I also associated it with the song “baby - by donnie & joe emerson “. we were sitting on the sunny balcony, having filter coffee and the song was playing in the background on the lobby´s record player. If you haven´t listen to it you should listen to it. Located between the forest and beach. A dream.
This year when I returned to the hotel I had a beautiful mission in mind. In two weeks´ time I wanted to explore the area and find small-scale producers and farms and introduce their produce to the hotel. seeing ingredients being bought in the supermarket broke my heart while knowing one is surrounded by the most incredible, high quality, fresh, seasonal, local, organic produce. the project was about talking to people, buying directly from the source, visiting farms and markets, tasting portugals flavours, building connections. finding better quality, seasonal, local alternatives. replacing with products that have a story, intention and were made with love and care.
so many beautiful souls I met along the way. so many stories. thankful for Francisco who lives in inland portugal helped me a lot. we share the same passions and hobbies of going for fruit and vegetable hunts with our baskets. Luciano and Isabel also have a very special place in my heart. they taught me a lot and I am grateful for all the beautiful moments we spent together <3. and all the other beautiful souls I met along my way. very special new friendships.
I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to turn what has always been my hobby into my first food consultation project. for me there’s nothing more beautiful than connecting with its farms, produce, land, people, soil, and the varieties of produce it has to offer. A prompt to go discover your sourroundings. You will be surprised by the hidden treasures you will find.
Every time I returned to the hotel with some new produce for the others to try I was full of excitement. arms full of fresh produce, shoes dusted with a farm’s soil (which mikkel and his white lobby carpets weren´t very happy about), a wide smile on my face. Whether it was a high quality local olive oil, freshly baked bread or local goats cheese. I loved seeing their reactions.
I want to share a little bit of what I discovered on my journey, my roadtrips, my conversations and my visits. An insight into portugal´s produce. a small collection of my discoveries.
I could have gone on doing this forever. It felt like I just started when I had to leave. My list was getting longer and longer. The more people I met and places I visited the more new tips I received from our conversations. the better you get to know the land around you, the more you keep discovering. I can´t wait to come back and continue where I paused. Or discover what another country, area, place has to offer.
getting to know and tasting new varieties of the region.
this is how you discover everything a region´s nature, soil and its people have to offer.
a wonderful way to get to learn and fall in love with a new surrounding. leaving with deep connections and experiences.
returning home with a full heart and belly, which got to taste new flavours and produce.
my priorities were finding sourdough bread, raw local honey, and high-quality local olive oil. I found the most wonderful sources for these products, traces of portuguese bees, olives and ancient grain varieties. local goat cheeses and high quality meat. vegetables, fruits and herbs.
I am very grateful to have had this opportunity.
a huge thank you to mikkel and the sweetest, most welcoming marqi family <3
a huge thank you to all the farmers, producers, new friends and soulmates <3
my personal connection to nature´s produce:
growing up, I always had a deep love for nature, herbs, nutrition, and raw, organic food produce. honestly, everything high-quality, intentionally produced, local, organic. discovering different varieties.
going to farmers markets, farms, herbal pharmacies became my passion. my ritual. a source of happiness and fulfillment. I could spend hours in these places.
for me, getting my food produce is not simply “getting groceries done”. it is about the people becoming used to you being a regular visitor, re-welcoming you with open arms, having conversations, sharing, learning and supporting each other. inhaling the scent, getting home with a big smile on my face and sparkling eyes, impatient to prepare dishes, cook, bake with all of the wonderful fresh produce poking out of my tote bags and my bike basket. what always came naturally with it, was observing how natural ingredients and herbs affected my body. how they made me feel. there is so much to learn about the effects and benefits nutrition and plants have on our body and mind. not only from university nutrition courses but most importantly by reading, trying out, experimenting, learning from others,...
when traveling, I love going on missions / treasure hunts. to find hidden local spots and cottages with chickens, cows, vegetable gardens. making the person next to me stop the car mid-road when I spot a fig tree, a wooden sign saying “fresh eggs”,... on the way home. you can imagine a car drive with me in the passenger seat always taking twice as long.
stories and impressions of marqi:
honestly tears weere rolling down my cheeks when I woke up on the first morning, opened the wooden door to the balcony and was surrounded by green (winter in copenhagen was tough). my heart has been craving colour - vibrant green, herbs, vegetables, green trees, sun on my face, sand beneath my feet.
waking up. tranquility. solely the chirping of birds. there is something special about the bird chirping here. my favourite always present sound here.
sunshine mixed with rain. the scent of the earth - comforting, alive.
getting coffee in the soft cotton bathrobe.
steaming hot bath tubs.
the old wooden window frames creating shadows on the fresh (but already messy) white bed sheets.
Isn’t there something quietly beautiful about how bedsheets fall right after you leave them? like they’re still holding a moment. wrinkled, a little wild, inviting you to get right back into bed.
long car rides along the coast. windows down, music on.
stories about the hotel.
marqi on film.
a hotel sourrounded by endless shades of greens,
raindrops on leaves reflecting the sunlight,
birds chirping,
jazz playing on the lobby´s record player,
the fire place filling the space with warmth on rainy days.
sunlight on soft cotton
a rainy tuesday afternoon
about the food produce and places:
just a few examples and insights into the wonderful farms and produce I found:
get in touch if you are interested in the full list (created a long beautiful list of 12 pages), location and contact details of farms and produce. .
sourdough bread
meat
milk products,
cheese
flour, grains
nuts, nut trees
olive oil
vegetables
fruits
farms
raw honey, jams,
syrups,
jelly
others
farms:
bio alentejanices
organic regenerative farm in Alentejo
freixo de meiora*w milk, ra*w cheese!!
meat
bone broth!!
bread baked in wood oven,
flours,
acorns, acorn flour, acorn bread, fermented acorns
wild mushrooms, fruits, vegetables,
dried chickpeas
quince pulp
olive oil
honey
their animals are fully grass and acorn fed.
the landscape farmfruit compots, jams
friends of a farmer
hortas de rainha
terra may have a cute bakery”pao & pizza”
quinta da ribeira
.........so many more
herbs:
get in touch with me if you want to know more about where to get fresh herbs, medical herbs and natural remedies
raw honey:
raw local honey.
recommened by a farmer friend.
never tasted a honey with such rich, dark, deep, earthy, herbal flavour before.
or from: quinta da coelha
bread:
buckwheat bread.
best gluten-free bread. baked freshly every day by a portugese woman and delivered to my favourite little farm in sintra, portugal
asked her for the ingredients:
maniok root starch
psyllium seeds
olive oil
honey
salt
olive oil:
“meirinho” olive oil
olive oil from quinta da terradifferent varieties of high-quality extra virgin oil, grown in syntropic forest.
meat:
talho das manasan organic regenerative butcher in lisbon who sources his meat from regenerative farm in Alentejo.
recommended by many locals.
they have chicken.
heidado do freixo
quinta de pregal
carne derva
feito no zambujal, alentejo best “chorizo curado”
if you are looking for a selection of the best meats and cheeses: go to Comida Independente in Lisbon <3
flour:
from joão vieira
cheese:
queijaria da sao
casa pratasnaturally fermented cheese
ortodoxo queijo
granja dos moinhos
beira lacte
cheeses from sabino rodrigues
eggs:
favourite: from my favourite little farm that just has 10 chicken
ra*w milk and cheese <3:
freixo de meio
nuts, nut trees:
from nut trees when in season
quinta d´arminho hazel, walnut, chestnut trees
freixo do meioacorns
a cerinquinha
jams:
homemade by some locals from their own seasonal fruits (get in touch for more info).
my favourite “jam man” brings a few jars—each one different in size and shape, with handwritten labels—to my favourite little farm store every now and then. we tasted the orange and apricot jam (all fruits from his garden). soft chunks of fruit, feeling homemade.
fruit syrups, jellies:
homemade Yacon Syrup (made by Aldea Coop from their own farm’s yacon potatoes. dark, intense, earthy, naturally sweet.
“geleia de marmelo”. pure quince jelly. (homemade by a small local farm).
fruit:
from philippe´s “agriculture biologica” at the praia das macas marketgarden of seasonal fruit. or from his friend from the south of portugal
quinta da ribeira
quiosque de natureza farm will have seasonal fruits like strawberries, apples, plums
coop aldeaask for what is from their own farm
a cerinquinha
vegetables:
from philippe´s “agriculture biologica” at the praia das macas market
quinta da ribeira
a cerinquinha
lemons:
from a friend of a friend´s lemon garden
bakeries:
a small village sourdough bakery using ancient local portuguese grain varieties by pedro:
A thirty-minute car drive through nature. Arriving at the small town where Pedro has his bakery.
while looking for a sourdough bakery that valued local ancient grains, this bakery gave me a special feeling. It is a tiny bakery run by two people only. pedro is truly passionate about what he is doing. he alternated between his musician and baker life, he then decided to open his own bakery. he ensures his bread is made from local ancient wholegrains. he keeps recipes simple and traditional, and the sweets gently, naturally sweetened only (the reason I totally fell in love with his ginger and carob cookies). incorporating nuts, spices and herbs. in other words my favourite values when it comes to bakeries. Fell in love with the gluten-free bread made of almonds, chickpeas and carob. toasted it and had it with raw local honey and sea salt.
types of breads he bakes:
rye
spelt
almonds, chickpeas, carob (rich, nutty, gluten free bread)
rice+quinoa
sweet potato
pão do moinho (combination of “farinha trigo barbela” and “farinha trigo preto-amarelo”. two ancient portuguese varities named after their windmill)
barbela (portuguese varity)
olive
ginger and olive oil cookie.
carob cookie.
also lots of other sourdough bakeries in the region and lisbon.
portuguese
acorns “bolota”:
from freixo do meio farm.
Something new I discovered during my time in portugal: acorns. back in the day, they their nutrients were highly valued and used for baking way before wheat flour took over.
While ordering high-quality meat and bone broth from “Herdade do Freixo do Meio“ (Alentejo region) I came across their different acorn products sourced from their forest. their pigs feed on acorns from the oak forest, giving their meat a very special taste and value.
Decided to take back a few bags of dried acorns with me (will probably make some acorn nut butter). And a bag of acorn infusion. And some fermented acorns.
So if you´re wondering why my luggage was a few kilos heavier when I returned to copenhagen you know why.
acorn constituents: iron, copper, zinc, manganese, provitamin A, vitamin E, phenolic compounds, antioxidants, fiber, high protein, tannins, omega-9, monounsaturated fats (similar to olive oil), very low glycemic index, prebiotic, anti-inflammatory properties.
acorn products from the farm:traditionally dried dehydrated acorns
acorn cookies
naturally sweet, spiced
acorn bread. with fennel, eggs, black pord lard, acorn flour, olive oil, cinnamon,... baked in thier wood-fired oven
acorn flour
acorn infusion
personal moments and memories <3
the small farm that stole my heart:
baked an almond wholegrain cake (with ingredients from the little farm shop) for the families who come to eat lunch every friday in the small cantina (a space built from wood and clay).
recipe from my dear friend jesper sjödahl.
raw local honey from portugal + homemade cashew butter + warm sourdough bread (grilled over wood fire!) with oilve oil
my favourite little farm:
spring began when my feet touched the grass again.
warm spring days spent in the garden.
sitting around the bonfire after the sun went down.
trees full of loquats, ripening.
cooking meals from harvested vegetables and herbs in the wooden cantina.
a community with the fullest hearts,
most grateful for the special bonds, conversations and friendships.
vegetables, herbs:
simplicity.
a piece of fresh goats cheese from sintra.
a piece of buckwheat bread dough I put around a stick and held over wood-fire flames.
sourdough pizza night at the farm. background sounds: portugese live guitar music. baker: pedro doing his sourdough magic.
sandor on film for raasted.
‘
about the region.
nature on film.
getting fresh cooling water from the spring in the most breathtaking forest.
the textures of tree barks.