It all started because of a professional need. In 2015, chef João Rodrigues concluded that, no matter how good it was, Feitoria restaurant in Lisbon could easily be replicated anywhere in the world. To the techniques and parameters adopted
in the kitchen some ingredients were missing and, to the ride of these, the identity. “We realized that we had to use Portuguese products. Anyone visiting us from another country would have to feel that they had actually made a trip to the table.” The search for people with a certain production philosophy began that same year and, truth be told, is far from over. Aware that he had a universe to explore, the chef took to the road to visit producers and know their methods.
In 2017, when the restaurant already enjoyed an internal map of supplier producers – and a Michelin star – trips from north to south of the country intensified with the aim of being able to share information with colleagues, the general public and generations to come. “This is how Projecto Matéria emerges,” says João Rodrigues, referring to the website launched in 2020 that functions as a public database – a non-profit initiative from scratch. There are dozens of producers of cheese, fish and seafood from the river, honey, spices, cattle and even acorns. The idea is also to enhance the distribution and flow of products.
