With immersive experiences on the rise and my cooking skills on the rusty side of the spectrum, I decided to peruse the Not in the Guidebooks website for some divine inspiration. The website delivers on quirky, off-the-beaten-track gems, you are unlikely to find on the more commercial websites around. Inspired by one of my favourite restaurants in London, Volta do Mar, which offers cuisine from the Portuguese diaspora, I booked myself along with my sister-in-law into a cooking retreat in the Algarve, which explores very similar themes.
I’ve always had some reservations about the Algarve. Yes, it has an optimal climate, but isn’t it well-known for its cookie-cutter neighbourhoods filled with expats? Well, as it turned out, I was wrong on both fronts. When we arrived at The River House, owners Graham and Cheryl explained they’d had an unusually wet start to spring. The verdant greenery along with the voluminous Funcho River was a slightly unexpected sight in an area, which had suffered an unwelcomed drought only in 2024.
This countryside villa is the perfect hideaway for a digital detox, exploring the rural surroundings and learning exotic recipes that will impress your future dinner guests. Their nearest town is Messines and there was not one expat spotted when we went on a morning shopping trip to the local market with Graham and Cheryl.
Chief to the success of any cookery retreat are the hosts. With Graham and Cheryl, you have the personable father and mother figure, who will disarm you with their approachable South African charm. They’ve also spent a considerable amount of time working in the UK, so no topic of conversation will escape their knowledge. I really appreciated how they took care to ensure you are bonding with other guests as you alternate cooking partners each meal.
Graham and Cheryl are not classically trained chefs, so what you won’t get are hours of meticulous technique lessons. However, they are passionate food connoisseurs and pescatarians, so what you will get are thoughtful, unusual recipes. Often, they might be Ottolenghi-inspired recipes or their pescatarian take on more traditionally meat-focused dishes.
What is the key ingredient in the cookery lessons? Laughter. An abundance of laughter. Whether it was Mary, my 76-year-old, hard-of-hearing, cooking partner, persistently refusing to grease her baking tray, despite being told so by every living soul in the kitchen, or my woeful attempt at a Cordon Bleu pan toss, that led to half of my chopped potatoes flying across the kitchen at breakneck speed. It was always a joyous experience filled with hilarity.
Dishes prepared included classics like salt cod fritters and a highly fragrant and moist Portuguese orange cake, which is particularly apt given the high density of orange groves in the area. We also took a trip to former Portuguese colonies with dishes like a vegetarian Macanese Minchi to a pescatarian Goan prawn curry. Throughout the cooking lessons, Graham would pepper us with fascinating facts – did you know the Portuguese invented Vindaloo? – because I didn’t. All the dishes we prepared followed the Portuguese spice route to Asia, so sadly there was no room for Brazilian cuisine. However, we did get some exceptional South African dishes that included bobotie (their version of the moussaka) and an addictively moreish Malva pudding.
There are daily, planned excursions for you to explore the surrounding countryside. The highlight was a visit to Arvad winery nearby. The 14 hectares of rolling vineyards are a soothing sight to behold. We were treated to a wine-tasting experience that included local grape varieties like negra mole in thoroughly modern surroundings, paired with a moreish local cheese tasting board. The clay soil of the area means their wines are more structured and fuller-bodied, offering punchier, rich flavours.
Another excursion involved an Apprentice-style task, where we were given euros to purchase produce from the local market such as buying rich, PDO cheese from the Alentejo region. This was in Messines, where we had not spotted a single expat, so English was not going to get us very far. I would love to say I’ve vastly improved my Portuguese as a result, but the only language I refined was my sign language skills. Other trips included a countryside hike to a dormant church, or you can stroll to explore the vistas at the reservoir at Barragem do Funcho. Alternatively, if you are the cook-and-flop kind of visitor, they have an infinity pool with scenic views of the surroundings.
On the accommodation front, they have a broad spectrum of offerings. Those looking for a commodious experience can book the master suite with an en-suite bathroom, whilst those looking for an adventurous outdoor experience can book up their upscale glamping tents.
And when you feel you’ve become the next Ottolenghi after their cookery retreat, you can always sign up for their art holidays and become the next Matisse.
For more information about riverside cooking in the Algarve, and for other ideas off the beaten track, please visit www.notintheguidebooks.com.
