Rota do Petisco offers the opportunity to enjoy an odyssey of flavours in the form of a gastronomic tour.
The event starts on September 11 and runs until October 11. Usually the tour starts earlier in the year with different areas holding the event for around a month at a time. However, being unable to hold the event as planned due to the pandemic, the decision was taken to postpone it thus helping the region’s businesses after the economic impact of COVID-19.
Participants use special Rota passports when visiting participating restaurants and cafés, where they can buy a tapas-style snack and drink for only €3 each or a dessert and drink for €2. The idea is to visit as many establishments as possible to discover the wide range of flavours that Algarvean cuisine has to offer.
Money raised from the sale of passports, each one costing €1.50, is donated to various regional entities including schools, a sailing association that uses sailing as a means of helping integrate people back into society plus the Algarve Association of Parents and Friends of Mentally Handicapped Children, (Associação Algarvia de Pais e Amigos de Crianças Diminuídas Mentais).
Passports are available online via the Rota do Petisco site (minimum order of 10 with a cost of €5 for postage), click here to order, or at any participating eatery. For more details visit the Rota’s Facebook page or website.
The route takes in 13 municipalities, from Odeceixe in the west to Cabanas de Tavira in the east of the region, with each menu having been specially designed for the Rota do Petisco using local products and inspired by regional cuisine.
Teia d’Impulsos is the driving force behind Rota do Petisco. The association, through social, cultural and sporting means, aims to help those who find themselves in hardship. They are currently supporting various initiatives, one of which is based in Portimão with the aim to serve 100 meals a day for those in hardship.