Elite Traveler Fall 2024

EXPLORE THE HOT LIST

Opposite page, clockwise São Miguel; cozido prepared in the hot springs; lake walk at the hot springs

Below, clockwise Cuisine at Ponta Delgada; there are said to be more cattle than people in the Azores

the guests involved in making cozido. We report to the kitchen at 11am, and under chef Delia’s instructions we start peeling and chopping, helping her to layer up the pot, salting as we go, before topping with cabbage to keep things moist. The pot is then wrapped tightly in cloth before being transported by car to the hot springs and lowered into the ground, where it will remain for the next six hours. We use that time for an appetite-building walk around Furnas Lake, trying to spot a priolo (an Azores bull fi nch) found only on São Miguel, and to plot a return visit to this remarkable, otherworldly, fl avor-rich archipelago. By Fiona Sims octanthotels.com; antoniomacanita.com

At the other end of the presentation scale, but no less delicious, is cozido , a traditional hearty stew of meats and vegetables slow cooked in a hot spring. We’re back on São Miguel to try this Furnas speciality, the town famous for its rejuvenating hot springs just a 45-minute drive east of Ponta Delgada. With more thanawhi ff of Jurassic Park about it (it smells faintly of sulfur), Furnas lies in a dormant volcanic crater, the old geothermal power station now a swanky, 55-bedroom boutique hotel — Octant Furnas boasts its own hot springs, employing a sustainability manager to keep things on track. Part of the Octant mission is to keep local traditions alive — and what better way to do that than by getting Azores’ cuisine is Europe’s best-kept secret. The nutrient rich volcanic soil gives a distinct terroir to the food produced here, fr om the highly prized beef (there are said to be more cattle than people in the Azores), to the dialed-up fl avors of the fr uitand vegetables, but the terroir is most notable in the abundance of cow’s milk cheeses, which range fr om soft and creamy to hard and salty

The revival began here more than a decade ago, thanks largely to the Azores Wine Company (AWC) and its star Portuguese winemaker António Maçanita, who made it his mission to revive forgotten grape varieties, such as Terrantez do Pico. Add to that a curious training system where vines grow through cracks in the volcanic rocks enclosed in centuries-old stone currais that protect against the Atlantic winds and you have a unique terroir, one listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site since 2004. And there’s a smart winery accommodation on-site and chef-to-watch Rui Batista in the kitchen, who serves up a stunning tasting menu to match AWC’s equally exciting wines, coveted by sommeliers the world over.

Photos RR Productions/Shutterstock.com, Joana Freitas, Fiona Sims