Leaving from Lisbon, and depending on the season, we will eat and drink our way through the rolling hills, olive trees and historic hill towns of spectacular Alentejo countryside. Join me for a one-day, off-the-beaten track adventure that explores the Alentejo region. A region robust with cuisine, hot temperatures, ancient Moorish & Roman villages - and landscapes with a transcendental, soulful be
auty virtually unaltered for centuries. But more than just beauty and history, Alentejo is celebrated throughout the country, and increasingly the world, for its cuisine where things are still done the traditional way. Depending on the season, we will meet local producers, taste local wines, talk to winemakers, tour farms, vineyards and historic hill towns, see local craftspeople and taste beloved desserts made from secret centuries-old recipes -- while eating and drinking our way through the rolling hills, olive trees and vineyards of the region. I will take you to the places where locals go, where tradition meets innovation, and where the beauty of the countryside and the warmth of its people will stay with you forever. I am Maureen Ferguson, an American, a former restaurateur from Philadelphia, now living and loving life in Lisbon (you can read my Love Letter to Portugal here). I followed my heart to Portugal, after a long and much-loved career in food, wine and hospitality. My Portuguese partner Joao, is a tech-entrepreneur by day, and a passionate lover of all things Alentejano (he is from Evora). We moved to Portugal in 2014, and I fell in love with the country, the culture and of course the cuisine. Thus began our life of kitchen collaboration, experimenting and sharing the food and wine of Alentejo with friends, both old and new. Today we split our time between a house on a hilltop in Lisbon, and the vineyards and villages of Alentejo.
