The Millennium Estoril Open is back this Saturday, April 26th, and runs until May 4th, at the Estoril Tennis Club. Over the years, Portugal’s biggest tennis tournament – with significant international relevance – has also become one of the main social events in the Cascais region, attracting plenty of locals. Tickets are available online, with prices varying depending on the day and the seats selected for watching the matches.
For 10 years, the catering for the VIP area of the Millennium Estoril Open has been provided by Casa do Marquês, one of the largest national companies in this field. They are the ones serving lunch and dinner at the Slice Restaurant, as well as preparing meals for the players, technical teams, and referees.
Time Out Cascais joined the Casa do Marquês team on the first morning of setup at the Estoril Tennis Club. Dozens of workers are bustling between the various technical areas. Some are carrying cables and other equipment to set up the electrical installations; others are putting the finishing touches on decorative pieces that will be spread throughout the spaces; and there are still those organizing the kitchen areas that are built over the course of a week, moving boxes of dishes and cutlery from one place to another.
The Estoril Tennis Club is completely transformed by Casa do Marquês, who set up temporary structures to create an operational technical area capable of serving over 12,000 meals throughout the event. When we visited, they were still waiting for a series of trucks to deliver equipment.
The food is prepared in the company’s central kitchen, an industrial space in Prior Velho, and finished off at Estoril. In total, around 250 people are allocated to the event, including 45 chefs. While figures for this year are not yet available, in 2024 Casa do Marquês provided a total of 57,600 cutlery sets, 38,500 plates, 28,800 glasses, and 9,600 napkins. Approximately 600 kilograms of seafood, over 900 kilograms of fish, and more than a tonne of meat were prepared, alongside 1,100 pizzas and nearly 10,000 desserts.
This year’s theme is "Ode to Food" – which means much of the décor is made from food. The tables feature photographs of ingredients, there are lampshades crafted from dehydrated oranges or bay leaves, centrepieces with fruits and vegetables, planters with aromatic herbs, chairs upholstered with cinnamon sticks, and decorative pieces like a bicycle covered in popcorn.
“The creative freedom we have is one of the things I enjoy most when working on the Estoril Open,” says Florbela Bem, the managing director of Casa do Marquês. “The big challenge is always managing to surprise people.”
This year, the record for the number of invited chefs will be broken, with chefs joining the Casa do Marquês team throughout the days of the Millennium Estoril Open. The culinary team is led by executive chef Humberto Santos. Miguel Laffan, Kiko Martins, Julien Montbant, Tiago Penão, Nelson Soares, Gil Fernandes, Lucas Azevedo, Miguel Nunes, and Sebastião Coutinho are the guest chefs who will be taking part in the event over the coming days. There will be live cooking sessions and some invited restaurants, including Casa das Velhas from Vila Nova de Cerveira. As always, the pizzas will be handled by Fernando Almeida, who comes all the way from Ponte da Barca every year.
Casa do Marquês acquired the EPUR restaurant, from Michelin-starred chef Vincent Farges, at the end of last year. The chef will be present every day, at all meals, overseeing the catering service, as well as having his own corner in the buffet line at Slice Restaurant.
Among the novelties of this edition is an area for “fine charcuterie and special cheeses,” a world cuisine section, another dedicated to freshly made pasta live, and a caviar bar. The dishes change daily, but there are some classic Portuguese foods that never leave the event, like açorda and cataplana. Another true institution of Casa do Marquês at the Millennium Estoril Open is the exclusive ice cream they serve every year – and that you can’t taste anywhere else. Shaped like a tennis ball, it’s made from citrus fruits and topped with a crumble, evoking the clay courts. “It’s the flavour that sells the most and the only one that remains constant.”
All leftovers, they assure us, are donated to Refood, which distributes them to those in need or organisations working with vulnerable populations. Last year, Casa do Marquês donated 1143 meals to Refood during the Millennium Estoril Open.
As for the food for the players, they say athletes prefer simple, unpretentious dishes. “White rice is the most popular,” explains a member of the team responsible for that area. “Bananas also disappear quickly.” There’s a buffet, but they also make adjustments upon request, should any players have special dietary requirements. “We leave them to their own devices, but we do make sure to prepare birthday cakes when someone celebrates their birthday.”
Avenida Condes de Barcelona, Estoril