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Seated around a long wooden table set over mismatched rugs, Dino d'Santiago and friends Valete, Cláudia Semedo, Rita Vian and Mayra Andrade shared songs, poems, stories and food. It was September 2025, and among the trees, the bonfires and hundreds of people at Parque Marechal Carmona, a new concert concept made its debut at Chefs on Fire, christened Mesa dos Artistas (Artists' Table). This year the host is Carolina Deslandes, who promises a one-off show, as if she were in her own living room. It's set for Sunday 20th, from 6pm.
The singer’s guests – having previously performed at Chefs on Fire in 2022 – will only be revealed at the time, but there are plenty of great reasons to head to the second day of the food festival: "locals" Tiago Penão, from Kappo (one Michelin star), and Nelson Soares, from Sult, are among the chefs who will be cooking. Joining them are big – and starred – names such as Angélica Salvador from IN Diferente, Ricardo Costa from The Yeatman, Afonso Dantas from Cozinha do Paço, Diogo Formiga from Encanto, and Pedro Lemos from his eponymous restaurant in Porto.
Sunday's musical line-up is rounded off by DJ Xinobi, from 8pm, while the food line-up also features names such as Louise Bourrat, from Mammarua, João Magalhães, from Bar Alimentar, Petter Nyström, from Familjen, and Michele Marques, from Mercearia da Gadanha.
The day before, Bateu Matou and father-and-son duo Paulo de Carvalho and Agir provide the soundtrack to Chefs on Fire, on a Saturday marked by the open-fire cooking of Gil Fernandes, from Fortaleza do Guincho, Tiago Bonito, from Éon, and José Lopes, from Bon Bon (all Michelin-starred), alongside Zé Paulo Rocha, from Velho Eurico, Pedro Pena Bastos, from Broto, and Miguel Laffan, from Gabbro, on Estrada do Guincho.
At Monday afternoon's presentation of the final updates to Chefs on Fire, at LOHAD in Belém, Gonçalo Castel-Branco also announced the debut of a new space, Prova Portugal, created to celebrate the country's regional diversity. Its first guest is Madeira, bringing chefs Octávio Freitas, from Desarma, and Filipe Janeiro, from Gazebo, to Cascais. Spain's Extremadura also features as a guest region, with its own stage, local produce and the presence of chef Mario Clemente, from Alberca. From across the Atlantic, Rodrigo Oliveira, chef at Mocotó, lands at the festival to build a bridge ahead of a future edition in São Paulo.
Another new addition this year is the launch of an official Chefs on Fire app, which only goes live in the final week before the event. There's good reason to download it: it will be the only way to access surprise musical performances and limited-edition dishes. These "drops" happen in unannounced areas of the site and don't appear on the main schedule. Beyond unlocking these hidden experiences, the app works as an essential guide, letting visitors check the site map (redesigned since last year), see in real time what each stall still has available, or decide what to eat based on ingredients and allergens.
See also: Kokini: Turkish cuisine and culture served at this best-kept secret in Cascais
Plus: The best things to do in Cascais in August
More news: keep up with the latest news from Cascais