Vitalina Santos began her career at Malhadinha Nova as a cook in the family home. Years later, with the opening of the restaurant and the first hotel, she joined the kitchen team, where she still works today.
Vitalina has been a reference for the traditional Alentejo dishes served at the Herdade for 25 years. She works every day preparing meals for guests and also shares her knowledge in cookery workshops. In addition to this interview, we asked her to give us the recipe for one of her most popular dishes: Malhadinha PDO Black Pork Loin with Chestnuts and Sweet Potato Puree.
Can you describe a working day at Malhadinha Nova?
The day starts very early, around 7am, preparing breakfast for customers. This is followed by preparing lunches and, for the rest of the day, I run workshops.
What dishes are essential for a typical Alentejo table?
Lamb stew and chickpea stew. I have many clients who come purposely just to eat these dishes.
What is your favourite Alentejo dish?
Oven-baked pork loin served with Herdade’s roasted vegetables: sweet potato, pumpkin and chestnuts.
Are there any secrets or traditional techniques that you have learnt from previous generations that you still use in your cooking today?
All my recipes are traditional, passed down from my grandmother and my mother.
How do the Malhadinha Nova cooking workshops work? What do you teach?
I teach recipes in which clients participate and prepare dishes. In pastry, we make sericaia.
In traditional Alentejo food, we make cod “açorda” and Alentejo bread “migas” with black pork “secretos”.
I also run biscuit workshops for children and bread workshops. My favourite is the pastry workshop, where I teach sericaia.
What are the main advantages of cooking every day with ingredients that come directly from Malhadinha's vegetable gardens?
The ingredients are fresh and there is always a wide variety of produce. The recipes follow the seasons, in order for us to make the most out of the quality of the ingredients. The black pork also comes from the Herdade and is of incomparable quality.