Professor Alberto de Castro gave Vale da Estrela a testimonial about the cheese dairy and its products and goes on with tempting tasting suggestions.

“Doing what hasn’t been done yet” is a classic by Pedro Abrunhosa, a love song whose title, as well as another verse (“tomorrow is always too late”), well reflect the challenges of the countryside. Everything, or almost everything, has already been said, written and proposed. It remains “only” to do what has not yet been done and tomorrow it may be too late. Making it happen requires protagonists. To do it quickly, and well, it is good advice to start with what we know how to do, not waiting for miraculous projects, as often announced as postponed. Building on available skills, framing them in business models that aim for quality and scale, is good practice and much more than half way through.

The Vale da Estrela project has all these ingredients: it starts from local bases, whether in terms of occupations or products, but adds to it the skills of managers who combine respect and love for the Region, experience and involvement in more complex and complete projects, with other market horizons. The ambition, that, is the same: to do well, to always improve.

What you see, for now, promises: an unbeatable cottage cheese and cheeses that rival the best. Try them and you will agree with me. Like the good Serra da Estrela cheeses, the cheese is sliced. If, however, you choose to cut off the “lid”, do not waste the carcass: cook a pasta, drain it and pass it hot through it. You will see that there is no parmesan that can get to your heels! As for the cured one, a challenge: break it into small pieces and eat it with a good Elvas plum; it’s heresy but you’ll see it makes a good dessert.

Professor Alberto de Castro

Professor of Economics at the Faculty of Economics and Management of the Portuguese Catholic University in OPorto.