We travelled to Marvão to discover Fago, a project that began completely unexpectedly. Before becoming chef José Diogo Branco, Diogo, one of the owners, was a medical student in Coimbra. He had a great passion for what he did and loved helping people, but... he felt he wasn't satisfied and needed a change in his life. That's when, in 2016, Diogo decided to move to Marvão and swapped the Coimbra University Hospitals for the Portalegre School of Hospitality and Tourism, taking the Cookery Management and Production course. We can say that it was a real change, from medicine to "pots and pans". During the course, and on his own initiative, Diogo did his end-of-course internship at 108, a restaurant in the Noma group in Copenhagen, led by chef René Redzepi. After that, he worked for a season with chef Thorsten Gillert in Hamburg and returned to Marvão.
Daniel, the other owner of Fago, also studied in Coimbra, having completed a master's degree in Artistic Studies. Initially, he worked more in business than in the artistic world. He told us that he divided his work as commercial director with occasional contributions to publications in the field of theatre and film criticism. After the financial crisis hit in 2013, he decided to return to Marvão and dedicated himself to rebuilding his family home in the village of Galegos, transforming it into Casa dos Galegos, a local accommodation near Marvão and close to the Spanish border.
On their return to Marvão, they challenged a friend who had also recently moved there and was building an accommodation project also located in the village of Galegos. It was then, in 2018, at their friend Carla's house, that they created the Galegos Gastronomic Club. The idea was to informally invite some friends to join them at the table at weekends. A short time later, in 2018, at Casa dos Galegos, they began to organise themed dinners, in a first series they called "Petiscos Pedidos", a pun on the famous requested albums on the radio. The idea was that people would sign up for the dinners and choose a dish or ingredient that they really liked or that somehow marked them. Diogo would then put together a menu in the style of a "seven course meal", trying to integrate all these requests so that all the guests could share this gastronomic experience together.
Time went by, the guests became friends and regular customers and, with all this, the frequency of these dinners increased. After the "Petiscos Pedidos", they moved on to a second series, called "Isto não é...", inspired by "A traição das Imagens" ("Ceci n'est pas une pipe"), by the surrealist painter René Magritte, and the trips they made: Abu Dhabi, Spain, England, Italy, France... the idea was to propose menus that were a mini-tour of these gastronomic destinations, without leaving the tables in the small living room of one of the guest houses at Casa dos Galegos, which they prepared to welcome a maximum of 16 guests each evening.
In March 2020, they were forced to stop the series because of the outbreak of the pandemic. They reinvented themselves and, since people could no longer come to them, they thought of a way to bring phage to them! So they moved on to a third series and a third phase: "All this is phage - DELIVERIES AND TAKEAWAY". At this stage people were confined to their homes and many got used to receiving Fago every week.
After this phase, they began to think seriously about opening their own permanent Fago space, in the form of a restaurant, in Marvão. The idea gave rise to the space, where they dedicated the remainder of the pandemic and the successive lockdowns to carrying out the work. This project opened its doors in October 2021 and has similarities to Casa dos Galegos in that they welcome people as if it were their own dining room. There is a huge desire to continue exploring all the gastronomic possibilities with local and seasonal ingredients, to make people happy, with simplicity and creativity. They have created a space that they themselves would like to frequent, without having to leave Marvão. A place for everyone, without formalities or time limits, where people and the best possible quality ingredients are the protagonists.
The Franciscan Pantry went to visit this place and, of course, it was like coming home and having the opportunity to feel the art of hospitality of the hosts, with extreme friendliness, where laughter was part of the meal. Each dish is a real discovery for the senses, where it is impossible to remain indifferent to all the experiences. At the end of each meal, customers have the opportunity to try a Franciscan Ginjinha.
The menu changes frequently, according to seasonality and the availability of products, and can be consulted on the Fago website. Be sure to visit this place right in the centre of Marvão. Daniel, Diogo, Sara and Maria are waiting for you.
Contacts:
Travessa da Praça 2A
7330-124 Marvão
Tel. 245 089 057
Email for bookings: fago@fagomarvao.com
