COURTESYOFMASTBROTHERS (MASTBROTHERS); COURTESYOFVILA JOYA (SEAFOOD);
PAULCALISTO/REDBULLHANGAR-7(OCEAN)
T
woof thebest chefs inPortugal grewup far from the
beach, rearedon schnitzel andwurst insteadof bacalao
and chouriço. Until recently, theseAustrian transplants, Hans
Neuner andDieterKoschina, ran theonly spots
in the countrywith twoMichelin stars (a
nativePortuguese chef joined their ranks
last year). They’ve earned international
accolades—andhomegrown respect—
with anunlikelymixof Teutonic and
Iberianflavors, a fusion cuisine that’s
become its own genreon the sun-
kissedAlgarve, thepalm-filledbeach
regionon the country’s southern coast.
Their restaurants, a short drive from
eachother, havehelped turn a regionbest
known for its package-tour vacations into
a serious foodiedestination.
“After tenyearsworking inGermany, I
was sickof theweather!” saysNeuner, theyoung Tyrolean
who launchedOcean restaurant at the clifftopVilaVita
ParcHotel in2007. Drawn southby thefloodof German-
speaking touristswhofilled theAlgarve’s beach resorts,
Austrian chefs likeNeuner havebecome thebiggest food
stars in their adopted country, as dominant as French chefs
oncewere in the States.
“I used to lookoutside the country for ideas and
ingredients,”Neuner says. “Now, 80 to90percentofwhat
SPOILSOFTHESEA
ChefDieterKoschina's
seafood-focused fare
theAmericanRevolution,when itwas
unfashionable todrink tea.
For itsmodern take on this ancient
method,theBrewBaraddsgroundnibs
toateabagandsteeps itforfourtoeight
minutes.You can then add almonds,
chilies,maple syrup,coffee,black teaor
sea salt to thedrink for flavor.Thecold
brew is steeped for24hours.
“It certainly changes your notion
of hot chocolate, which is usually
too sweet and very rich with cream
or milk,” says pastry chef Michelle
Tampakis, the resident chocolate
expert at New York’s Institute of
CulinaryEducation.
JustaswithMastBrotherschocolate
bars, you have a choice of origin for
your brewed chocolate, with beans
from Peru,Madagascar, Belize, the
DominicanRepublic andPapuaNew
Guinea.Andmuchaswithwine,each
bean boasts regional terroir. Cocoa
beans fromPeru,forexample,aremore
fruity, while those from Papua New
Guinea aredistinctly smoky.
“It’s come full circle, to go back to
a specific-originbean, justwithwater,
so you really have an opportunity to
taste the terroir of the bean itself,”
saysTampakis.“Thebeanshavequite
a fruitiness to them so you don’t
really need a lot of sugar—you taste
the bean itself.”
At BrewBar, if you really do need
your sugar and cream, there’s simple
syrupandmilkonhand.Butbewarned:
Even if you add both of these, it still
won’t taste like the hot chocolate you
grewupwith.And that’s just how the
MastBrotherswant it.
tastemakers
AlpineMeetsAlgarve
AnunexpectedculinaryconnectionbetweenAustria
andPortugal is revitalizingcoastalAlgarve’s foodscene
portugal
WINDOWSEATS
Theviewof the
sea fromHans
Neuner’saptly
namedOcean
38
MARCH2015
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HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
BREWBROTHERS
RickandMichaelMast
enter thedrinks game
