Central Portugal launches gastronomic route towards the 2027 Michelin Gala · Wine Magazine

The Tourism Board of Central Portugal (TCP) and the Regional Tourism Promotion Agency of Central Portugal (ARPTC) presented the project “On the Way to the Stars”, a gastronomic and cultural journey through the eight sub-regions of Central Portugal until March 2027, culminating in the MICHELIN Guide Portugal Gala in Coimbra.

The project was presented at the Pena D'Água Boutique Hotel & Villas in Covilhã, under the motto "The Gala is the destination. Authenticity is the path." The idea is to transform the Gala into an opportunity to showcase the gastronomic and cultural diversity of the region over six months, rather than concentrating promotion on a single event.

Eight territories, eight experiences

The project centers around eight gastronomic and cultural Pop-Ups, one in each sub-region of Central Portugal: Aveiro Region, Coimbra Region, Leiria Region, Viseu Dão Lafões, Beiras e Serra da Estrela, Beira Baixa, Médio Tejo, and Oeste. The first experience is scheduled for October in Viseu Dão Lafões, and the route continues in the following months through the other sub-regions, ending in the Coimbra Region, closer to the Gala. The specific locations of the Pop-Ups are being defined with the Intermunicipal Communities and other territorial partners.

Each Pop Up is built upon the identity of the territory where it takes place, combining gastronomy, local products, producers, heritage, landscape, crafts, culture, and artistic creation. The experiments follow a matrix with six dimensions: Discover, Do, Taste, Create, Cook, and Share.

Each Pop Up will be hosted by the Chief Ambassador of the respective sub-region, who will invite a Chief Ambassador from another territory to participate.

The eight chief ambassadors

Diogo Rocha (Viseu Dão Lafões)

Luís Lavrador (Coimbra Region)

Hélio Loureiro (Aveiro Region)

Ricardo Ramos (Beiras and Serra da Estrela Region)

Sérgio Fernandes (Médio Tietê)

Maria Caldeira de Sousa (Beira Baixa)

Diogo Caetano (Leiria Region)

Patricia Borges (West)

Pedro Pontes, director of the Structuring, Planning and Promotion Unit of Turismo Centro de Portugal, explained that the option is to create "events of value, not mass events," prioritizing differentiating experiences capable of revealing the cultural and natural heritage of each territory.

Gastronomy, art and authenticity

"On the Way to the Stars" is based on three pillars: Gastronomy, Art, and Authenticity. Gastronomy is the common thread in each experience, in dialogue with other cultural and artistic expressions, from photography and video to ceramics, basketry, wood, stone, textiles, traditional arts, or contemporary creation. Producers, artisans, restaurants, cooks, communities, products, heritage, and landscape are all part of the experiences.

This is a night of stars, but it creates memories for a lifetime. I'm sure that, through the combination of all this activity, we will be able to attract thousands of people to the region to discover the restaurants, products, and hotels. That's what we want: to attract visitors from Portugal and abroad who are looking for value-added experiences that will stay in their memories.

The Gala is expected to bring together between 550 and 600 guests and involve, directly and indirectly, more than a thousand people.

Flavors in the Center as the basis of the project

“On the Way to the Stars” builds upon the work already developed by the Sabores ao Centro project, from Turismo Centro de Portugal, expanding the existing gastronomic ecosystem in the region. Chef Diogo Rocha, from Mesa de Lemos, assumes the Global Gastronomic Curatorship of the initiative, with the mission of ensuring coherence between the eight experiences and the dialogue between tradition and contemporaneity.

Partnership between TCP and ARPTC

The project is the result of a partnership between Turismo Centro de Portugal and the Regional Tourism Promotion Agency of Central Portugal. TCP assumes institutional and territorial coordination and articulation with the Intermunicipal Communities, while ARPTC plays a relevant role in the areas of communication, press, creators, tour operators and internationalization. The Intermunicipal Communities participate in the mobilization of municipalities, producers, restaurants, heritage and communities of the eight sub-regions.

The international dimension of the project begins this week with an activation in Madrid, aimed at the Spanish press, food journalists, tour operators, creators, and entities linked to tourism promotion. Another milestone is the Sabores ao Centro Gala, scheduled for November 9th in Castelo Branco, which brings together the regional gastronomic ecosystem.

We cannot view the MICHELIN Gala as a one-day event. We must capitalize as much as possible on this opportunity through concrete initiatives and actions in the region, and that is exactly what Turismo Centro de Portugal did: it managed to build a six-month path that allows us to talk about the Gala, but also about the territories, the authenticity and the enhancement of each of the sub-regions.

The president of Turismo de Portugal also highlighted the growing importance of gastronomy in the national tourism strategy, emphasizing that it "has ceased to be a complementary asset" and has become "one of the 10 central assets of the tourism sector," due to its ability to add authenticity to the offer and bring tourism activity to the entire territory throughout the year.

The work carried out over the next few months should contribute to strengthening the network between chefs, producers, restaurants, companies and territories, creating new gastronomic experiences and routes, and generating content that continues to promote Central Portugal in national and international markets.