Público
November — 2011
Jose Gourmet: canned food that showcases our flavours
Jose Gourmet was born out of the friendship between a commercial airplane pilot (Adriano Ribeiro) and an illustrator (Luís Mendonça)
At one time, they were both working in Macao, and, knowing of the quality of some of “our” products, they couldn’t understand why it was so difficult for Portugal to export them. Later, they decided to contribute to the dissemination of some national flavors. “We realized that canned food was a poorly treated product, despite having a number of qualities, such as Omega 3 and being much better than other food our children consume …”, says Luis Mendonça to the PÚBLICO newspaper. He also tells of the challenge of reaching out to both children and adults, removing the nostalgic aspect evoked by the aesthetics that are typically associated with the canning industry.
“Since there is no childhood without imagination,” they chose 12 prestigious Portuguese illustrators, whose work could be recognized by the kids and some parents. “Six from Porto: Cristina Valadas, Emílio Remelhe, Gémeo Luís, Inês Oliveira, Marta Madureira and Rui Mendonça. Six from Lisbon: André Letria, Bernardo Carvalho, Madalena Matoso, João Vaz de Carvalho, Teresa Lima and Yara Kono. “
This project was joined by chef Luís Baena, who created recipes for children, “combining speed, simplicity and fun”, and for adults, “with more sophisticated dishes, filled with new and exquisite flavours”. The recipes appear on leaflets that accompany the cans. “And we asked the writer Eugénio Roda to develop micronarratives that would combine the specific characteristics of the products with details from the imaginary, offering something more than purely informative language.”
The José Gourmet canned products, generally known as ART, are sold in several stores across the country and cost between 2.55 and 10.35 euros. Wines, olive oils, vinegars, Lourinhã brandy and Óbidos ‘ginja’ (Morello cherry liqueur) are some other national products that can already be found, for example, in Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Brazil and … Macao. Port wine will be next. The most recently illustrated flavours are jams, traditional or not so much. A suggestion by Luís Mendonça: “Red pepper jam. With melted cheese, it is absolutely delicious.”
