The Azores islands are a one-off culinary destination thanks to their location, geology, climate and the list goes on. At Azores Essentials we will help guide you through the stunning local produce we have available to us by creating dishes and offering teas, soft drinks and wines and much more that tell the culinary story of these islands in our All Azores line. By working very closely with our amazing local producers we ensure that we bring to you the best produce that the Azores has to offer. We also make use of our volcanic location in Furnas to cook a whole range of dishes geothermally for you beyond the classic Furnas Cozido in our geothermal line. We use the heat of our earth and our extensive experience of cooking in this way to present to you everything from breads and cakes to meat, eggs, vegetables, jams and chutneys and much more! Indeed, we have been awarded the GEOfood brand by UNESCO which defines “taste quality” based on local traditions and ancient knowledge, connected with geological heritage characterizing the Azores Geopark. Regularly, our services contain more than 95% of their ingredients sourced from within the Azores.

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All of our services allow you exclusive and private access to our historic thermal bathhouse setting of Chalet da Tia Mercês and we are very happy to work with our guests to tailor their experience to their tastes.

We are based in both science and a love of great produce, great food and great wine as well as sustainability. We use this mix of our skills to provide you with everything from interesting flavour combinations to explanations about the water chemistry of our springs to generating novel local produce based on global favourites but with a strict local slant.

 

Come sit on our patio at Chalet da Tia Mercês and watch the steam rising from the Caldeiras while feasting on local cheeses served with breads cooked in the earth or simply enjoy the end of a long day with a glass of wine and a cocktail with a unique gastronomic experience while marveling at the natural beauty of the Furnas crater as the sun goes down. We look forward to seeing you and sharing our passion for our local produce with you.