Panoramic photo of São Miguel island's lush green hills. To the right, above the photo, Chef Cláudio Pontes is holding a piece of São Jorge cheese with one hand, partially covering the lower part of his face.
Local Stars Project

Local ingredients are the stars

Between March 2023 and April 2025, enjoy the new Executive Class menus on long-haul flights departing from Lisbon, created by local Chefs.

The best Portuguese cuisine, region by region

The TAP Local Stars Project, a partnership with The Art of Tasting Portugal, aims to bring the best Portuguese cuisine to the whole world. But there's more. It also aims to give our passengers the chance to taste the star ingredients of each Portuguese region.

The Art of Tasting Portugal is a platform that aims to promote Portuguese cuisine by mapping the country's food traditions and offering experiences focused on Portugal's gastronomy. It brings together the best ingredients while respecting their seasonality, worked on by Portugal's best chefs in a sustainable manner, so that you will fondly remember this country that so cherishes its gastronomic heritage.

For the TAP Local Stars project, we invited twelve Chefs - all of them famous in Portugal and steeped in local traditions - to prepare twelve menus using traditional ingredients from each region of the country, including a star product.

12 Chefs, 12 special menus

Watch video
May and June
Watch video
São Jorge Cheese by:
Cláudio Pontes
Born in the island of São Miguel, Chef Cláudio Pontes represents the Autonomous Region of the Azores. This region is surrounded by the blue immensity of the Atlantic and by an unparalleled natural beauty of infinite harmony.

The star product chosen by the Chef is the São Jorge Cheese, a unique product with characteristics that go back centuries. Considered by all Azoreans to be a product of excellence, it is one of the most emblematic flavors of the archipelago.
Watch video
Watch video
March and April
Watch video
Grouper by:
Henrique Sá Pessoa
In March and April, Chef Henrique Sá Pessoa will present Grouper as the main ingredient of the menu he created using the best flavors from the Lisbon area.

Inspired by Lisbon's Atlantic breeze and his own experience as a Lisboner, Chef Henrique Sá Pessoa created a menu that invites you to discover an unusual and irreverent combination of flavors. At the end of this flavor trip, you will fall in love with Grouper.
Watch video
Stay tuned...
Over the next few months, we will reveal the remaining ten menus created by the best Chefs with regional products.

Discover the local ingredients chosen by the Chefs

São Jorge Cheese is the protagonist in May and June

The Local Star chosen by Chef Cláudio Pontes is the São Jorge Cheese, a unique product with a century-old culture and a Protected Designation of Origin certification, with characteristics that go back centuries. São Jorge Cheese is considered by all Azoreans to be a product of excellence and is one of the most emblematic flavors of the archipelago located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Through Chef Cláudio Pontes' menu, Passengers on Executive Class will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the flavors of what is considered the most emblematic territory in Portugal.
Photo of a white plate featuring São Miguel-style veal loin, São Jorge cheese, and pak choi.

Main course

Micaelense-style veal tenderloin, São Jorge cheese and pak choi

Ingredients of the Micaelense-style veal tenderloin, São Jorge Cheese and pak choi:

120 g of veal fillet
20 g of ground pepper
1 garlic clove
1 bay leaf
50 g of Azorean butter
1 kg of agria potato
250 g of clarified butter
50 g of chopped shallot
20 g of cornstarch
200 g of pak choi cut into fine julienne strips
30 g of beef broth
50 g of São Jorge cheese
20 g of São Jorge cheese (grated)

Preparation:
- Beef tournedo: measure 120 g, heat a sauté with a drizzle of olive oil and brown the tournedo. Place 1 crushed garlic, the bay leaf, the butter, and glaze the tournedo with butter. Remove and leave to rest.
- Ground pepper sauce: put butter and ground pepper in the sauté where the tournedo was sautéed, refresh with white wine and add the meat broth. Combine with xanthan or cornstarch-based roux and finally add the cheese.
- Potato puffs: laminate the potatoes over the length with a 2 mm thickness. Chop the shallot and let it cook in clarified butter. Once cooked, add the cornstarch, then place the laminated potato on a tray, and brush each layer of potato with the shallot-butter preparation, until in reaches 7-8 cm high. Bake at 180 ºC for 25 to 30 minutes, covered. Once ready, let it cool and divide it by 10 cm in length and 3 cm in width. After this division, bake in the oven at 200 ºC until it gets brown.
- Pak choi: cut into julienne strips, saute with shallots, a little butter and season with salt.

Completing the dish:

Put the pak choi on the base, place the tournedo over it, place the potato chips on one side and spread the sauce over the meat. Finish with the grated cheese over the meat.

Watch the video and learn more about the dish that you will be able to see - and taste - on board!

Medium long shot photo of Chef Cláudio Pontes dressed in a white chef jacket, with his arms crossed over his chest. To the right, a hand is holding a piece of São Jorge cheese in front of the Chef's face. In the background, a panoramic photo of São Miguel island's lush green hills.

Discover the other dishes in this Menu:

Photo of a white plate featuring Azores tuna slices, arugula, and São Jorge cheese.
Starter
Azores tuna slices, arugula and São Jorge cheese
Photo of a white plate featuring Azores pineapple flan.
Dessert
Azores pineapple pudding

The star of the March and April Menu is Grouper

This fish, known for its mild flavor and very common on the coast of Lisbon, is one of Portugal's best-loved dishes and part and parcel of Lisbon's regional cuisine.

And now, thanks to the imagination and talent of Lisbon-born two-Michelin-starred Chef Henrique Sá Pessoa, it is set to fly around the world and delight our Executive Class passengers on long-haul flights departing from Lisbon.
Photograph of a white plate with grilled grouper with shrimp stew and sweet potato.

Main Course

Roast Grouper with shrimp and sweet potato stew

Ingredients for the roast Grouper:

120g clean Grouper loin
30ml olive oil
5g laminated garlic
2g coriander stalks
2g lemon thyme
Brine to taste

Preparation
- Soak the Grouper fillet in a liquid brine (100g salt for each 1litro of water, 10%) for about 20 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- After seasoning with all the other ingredients, roast at 160°C for about 10/12min.


Ingredients for the shrimp and sweet potato stew:

30g chopped onion
5g minced garlic
5g ginger
1 chili pepper
30ml white wine
60g Aljezur sweet potato, diced
30g red pepper
30g yellow pepper
30g chopped tomatoes
20g tomato pulp
60g peeled shrimps, diced
250ml shrimp stock
2g chopped coriander
30ml olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation
- Stir fry the onion, garlic and ginger in olive oil. Add the peppers and stir fry for 8-10min.
- Refresh with white wine and add the tomato pulp, shrimp stock, and diced sweet potato. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes.
- Add the diced shrimp and coriander, adjust the seasoning, and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Serve as fish bed.


Watch the video and learn more about the dish that you will be able to see - and taste - on board!

Medium shot of Chef Henrique Sá Pessoa smiling, dressed in a white chef's coat and holding a unique dish with grouper. In the background there is an aerial image of Lisbon and the Tagus river, with the 25th April bridge on the left side.

Discover the other dishes in this Menu:

Photograph of a white plate with an octopus salad.
Starter
Octopus salad
Photograph of a white plate with a pear and a cinnamon & chocolate brownie.
Dessert
Pear, Cinnamon and Chocolate Brownie
Closest Cities
Select dates
Select date
For security reasons, your session will be automatically closed within the specified period. To renew your session, we ask that you log in again.