“It is always possible to be more sustainable when cooking at home and preserve the environment”, guarantees Rodrigo Castelo, Chef of the Year 2024. Winner of the Sustainability Award and a Golden Fork in the Boa Cama Boa Mesa Guide, the chef and owner of the restaurant Ó Balcão, in Santarém, begins by suggesting the preparation of “broths with potato peels and the remains of other vegetables” whenever he prepares a meal. “It doesn’t hurt to have a pot of water boiling at the side and, instead of throwing everything away, start preparing a soup with more flavor and more quickly”, explains the cook, who this year was also awarded a Michelin star, as well as a Green Star, given to the most popular restaurants. advanced in terms of sustainable practices.
Oh Balcony
ARNALDO CELLANI JUNIOR
Likewise, Rodrigo Castelo urges that “bones and bones be kept after cleaning the protein” and that, “if it is not possible at the moment, keep them in the freezer and prepare richer broths and sauces during the weekend” . As a third sustainability suggestion, the chef from the Ó Balcão restaurant also mentions the use of trimmings, “for example, meat and chicken”. It is possible, “after cutting the loins, you can simply make a woodpecker”. In the case of chicken, “my suggestion is to use the entire bird, preparing the breasts and wings for a variety of meals”.
Bearded Hat
ARNALDO CELLANI JUNIOR
Reduce, reuse and recycle at home
“Separating waste at home”, more than a suggestion, is a warning. Rodrigo Castelo has no doubt that “it’s never enough to talk about waste separation, because, I dare say, 70% of people don’t do it, and it’s very important to recycle”. Saving water is the last of the suggestions, risking predicting the return to “pressure cooker” kitchens, because it saves water and, above all, time in cooking. Still on water resources, the chef at the Ó Balcão restaurant calls for the use of “as little as possible, cloth towels and napkins”. The option is to “use biological, recyclable products and thus contribute to a better environment”.
Oh Balcony
PM
As an extra suggestion, even more in the form of a challenge, Rodrigo Castelo suggests “creativity in using leftovers”. For the chef“it can even be fun to research the best way to reuse leftovers from dinner, on the internet or in recipe books, without putting in a lot of effort.”
Rodrigo Castelo’s tips for combating food waste were presented at the end of the second edition of Recheio Talks, which took place at the Recheio Cascais store, this Wednesday, September 25th, the date on which National Sustainability Day is celebrated. “Sustainable Production – The future of food” was the topic of the debate.
Chef Rodrigo Castelo
10 years of Ó Balcão restaurant
The restaurant Oh Balcony (Rua Pedro de Santarém, 73, Santarém. Tel. 243055883) marks, on September 26th, the end of the restaurant’s tenth anniversary celebrations. The celebrations take place with a dinner that has the chefs guests, Alexandre Silva, from the LOCO restaurant, awarded Golden Fork in the Boa Cama Boa Mesa 2024 guide, Vasco Coelho Santos, chef from the Euskalduna Studio restaurant, also distinguished with the Golden Fork, Ricardo Luz, from the recent Restaurante Authentic project, in the Algarve, and Lídia Brás, from the Stramuntana restaurant.
Chef challenge
PopUp Alive
