The need to grow without losing its intimate vibe had been felt for some time, as Chefs on Fire gained more recognition and occupied an increasing space at Fiartil – the Estoril Handicraft Fair. Seven years later, the change is happening, and for September, on the 20th and 21st, a "Chefs on Fire 2.0" is already on the horizon. At Parque Marechal Carmona, the chefs will be more spread out, there will be new relaxation areas, direct access to Santa Marta beach, and new stages – one for industry-related talks in partnership with the Congress of Cooking, curated by Paulo Amado, another dedicated to artisans with curatorship by Vânia Rodrigues from the Matéria Project, and a third for photography, led by Arlindo Camacho. It will be a new Chefs on Fire, but its founder, Gonçalo Castel-Branco, assures that it won’t be drastically different.
“Anyone who has followed this journey over the years will come to the same conclusion I did: we had outgrown that space. We were already spilling into the street in front, using the Congress Centre, and becoming bad neighbours,” explained Gonçalo at a casual lunch with the participating chefs, press, and partners. “Chefs on Fire had become too big for the place it was in,” he continued, assuring that steps are being taken to ensure the festival doesn’t turn into something else. The goal, he pointed out, is to “keep the same feeling everyone knows from Chefs on Fire,” meaning it will remain “a gathering of friends.”
With the change of venue comes new opportunities. The experience of Madrid, where the festival will return this year after the successful 2024 edition, also provided valuable lessons. At the Real Jardín Botánico Alfonso XIII, there was space to spread out blankets, creating relaxation areas alongside many tables, and Fire Talks brought together people from the gastronomy world for insightful conversations. In Cascais, this formula will be repeated.
“There’s no other festival where you can swim in the sea, take a nap, enjoy great food, and listen to good music,” says Gonçalo Castel-Branco, proudly announcing the introduction of a Fire School with chef Alexandre Silva. The idea is to offer various workshops focused on this ancient technique – and if there were any doubts, the pre-festival lunch, which also served to photograph all the dishes for this edition, happening on a blackout day, proves that when everything seems to fail, fire cooking can save the day.
In the new space, the chefs – 18 per day, instead of the usual ten – will be more spread out. This year, there will also be opportunities to take breaks at each station, encouraging circulation throughout the venue.
On Saturday, the 20th, the chefs cooking meat dishes will be Óscar Geadas (one star at G Pousada), João Correia (Rossio Gastrobar), Francesco Ogliari (Tua Madre), Hugo Candeias (Ofício), and Kiko Martins (O Talho). Meanwhile, Diogo Caetano (Terruja), Mónica Gomes (Olaias), Filipe Rodrigues (Taberna do Mar), Ana Moura (Lamelas), and Nikita Polido (Celmar) will be in charge of seafood. The vegetarian dishes will be prepared by José Neves (Ciclo), Nelson Soares (Sult), and Nuno Castro (Fava Tonka), while Juliana Penteado (Juliana) and Sara Soares (Caos Vegetal) will handle desserts.
On the following day, the lineup includes several Michelin-starred chefs, such as Carlos Teixeira (Herdade do Esporão) and Rodolfo Lavrador (Cura), cooking meat dishes, along with Ana Leão (Babel), Fernando Cardoso (Grupo Monda), and Hari Chapagain (Oven). The duo from the two-Michelin-starred Casa de Chá da Boa Nova in Leça da Palmeira, Rui Paula and Catarina Correia, will prepare fish dishes, alongside Arnaldo Azevedo (one star at Vila Foz), André Cruz (one star at Feitoria), Noélia Jerónimo (Noélia), and David Barata (Austa). For vegetarian dishes, there are three renowned chefs: Diogo Formiga (one star at Encanto), Nuno Mendes (Santa Joana and Cozinha das Flores), and António Galapito (Prado). For desserts, the spotlight will be on Fábio Quiraz (one star at Vista) and Américo dos Santos (two stars at Belcanto).
Three international chefs will also be cooking on each day, but their names have yet to be revealed, along with the lineup of artists performing at the festival.
Tickets for this edition are already on sale, with prices ranging from €50 (daily access to the festival without drinks or food portions) to €200 (a two-day pass with 15 dishes and ten drinks). There are also two daily ticket options: €85 (five dishes and two drinks) or €100 (seven dishes and four drinks). Children’s tickets are priced at €20, granting access to the kids' zone, which includes tailored activities and mini-portions for children.
Before Cascais – “the best episode of all,” as Gonçalo Castel-Branco puts it – there are two pop-ups: Vilamoura from June 20th to 22nd, and Aveiro from July 19th to 21st. After that, Chefs on Fire will return to Madrid on October 4 and 5.
“We want Chefs on Fire to take place in four countries next year. Our goal, by 2030, is to be the world’s largest festival,” says Gonçalo, mentioning the aim of expanding to ten countries within five years. “Chefs On Fire started as a fun gathering, a barbecue for family and friends, with 50 or 60 people. Ten months later, we held our first event with 750 people. Today, the event reaches 25,000 people across two countries,” he summarized.