Eat Your Way Through Madeira

In Apartamento and Belmond’s Recipes & Wanderings series, we celebrate the joys of meandering through culinary communities around the world. In our latest book in the series, Madeira, we explore an Atlantic island where tropical fruit tastes as if sprinkled with sugar just before each bite. Its landscape shifts dramatically – from verdant valleys to UNESCO-protected laurel forests and sheer, wave-weathered cliffs. Here, the art of fishing shapes not only coastal communities but also the dishes that land on their tables each night.  

Here, Nadine Ijewere’s radiant film photography captures the island and its contours. Meanwhile, writer Inês Matos Andrade takes the reader on an unhurried walk through Madeiran cuisine, its tricks, trades and influences, while winding through the poetic communities that make up the island: from the iconic Fragateira serving the island for over 50 years, to Funchal’s farmers’ market.

The dishes in this Portuguese cookbook were largely gathered from the kitchens of Reid’s Palace, Belmond’s hotel in Funchal, Madeira, a historic hotel that first opened in 1891. Madeiran recipes like gaiado seco, bolo do caco and malassadas are joined by recipes from contributors inspired by the island’s signature ingredients, including Claire Ptak, Rafael Tonon and Nuno Mendes. 

The fifth in our Recipes & Wanderings cookbook series, following Liguria, Penang, Campania and El Bajío, Madeira continues Apartamento and Belmond’s journey. Madeira, ‘the island of eternal spring’, is abundant in beauty and generous in its celebration of heritage – a place that captures the imagination of all who experience it. The Madeiran food highlighted in this cookbook is an ode to that imagination, shaped by its recipes and the people who call it home.