In a ceremony presided over by the Minister of Territorial Cohesion, Professor Ana Abrunhosa, and after a contest marked by the complexities related to Covid-19, the 2nd Beira Interior Contest closes with a golden key.

The delivery of the Beira Interior Gourmet Awards takes place today in Guarda at 15:30, in the beautiful space of the great auditorium Teatro Municipal da Guarda.

As in the inaugural edition of 2020, the jury made up of high-level experts traveled the region for more than two months, visiting in person all the restaurants in the competition, reaching a record number of adhesions. The great novelty of extending the competition to restaurants outside the region was greatly welcomed by restaurant entrepreneurs across the country.

When it was thought that in 2020, when the start of the jury's work had to be postponed due to the pandemic and the duty of confinement, and therefore only later was it possible to complete the work, 2021 was the year of all surprises, with the worsening of the measures, the same in which it was decided to move towards national coverage.

With different purposes inside and outside the region, it was mainly a matter of validating the brilliance of the menus on the competition, regarding the harmonization of Beira Interior wines with the culinary offer of the adherents. This will be affixed to the participation diplomas that are delivered today. The first case tried to use the same criteria as last year, with the attribution of the relevant prizes.

It is worth mentioning the creation of the special Valdir Lubave prize, which disappeared in 2021, in memory of one of the most excellent workers dedicated to Beira Interior.

The winners of this second edition of Beira Interior Gourmet are:

Best Space – Convento de Belmonte in Belmonte

Best Wine List - Nobre Vinhos e Tal in Guarda

Best Wine Service – Colmeia in Guarda

Best Entry - Alquimia at the H2otel Congress & Medical SPA in Covilhã

Best Dish – Adega dos Apalaches in Oleiros

Best Dessert – Taverna da Matilde in Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo

Best Wine and Food Pairing – Soadro na Guarda

Best Restaurant – Alkymia in Covilhã

The Chef Valdir Lubave Awards were given to Chefs Mário Rui Ramos and Júlio Fernandes.