Al-Lusitano, the Portugal Pavilion restaurant at Expo 2020 Dubai, welcomed chef Hans Neuner this Monday, 21 February, at the invitation of chef Chakall, for a symphony of Portuguese flavours. 

Under the same motto of the Portuguese Pavilion, “A World in One Country”, the event was hosted by chef Chakall, head and executive chef of Al-Lusitano, and Austrian chef Hans Neuner from the two-Michelin star restaurant Ocean at Vila Vita Parc Resort, in the Algarve.

More than an invitation or a “challenge”, the event was, in the words of chef Chakall, “a symphony of flavours”. Visitors were invited to try a seven-course menu, where there was no shortage of Portuguese delicacies such as Serra da Estrela cheese, sea bass with cockles, or D. Amélia cake from the Azores Islands.

The friendship that unites these two chefs is not new. They both chose to put down roots in Portugal – Chakall for more than two decades and Hans Neuner for about 14 years –, they are the 4th and 3rd generation of cooks in their respective families; they both passed through Germany throughout their professional careers; both are irreverent, each in their own way, and have a huge respect and passion for national ingredients, products and producers, regardless of the style of cuisine practised in their own restaurants.