Text: Ricardo Miguel Vieira/Hugo Rocha Pereira | Photo: Mauro Mota
In a Saturday evening by November the sun still shins and warms the “Jogo da Bola” sidewalk, João Mendes, aged 57, sets fire to a small pile of pine needles and charcoal and triggers a white smoke trail that spreads through the square. The smoke stain, sparse yet uninterrupted, is uncovered since the corner of Loja da Amélia and the Prudêncio Franco da Trindade street, which flows into the mythical Praça da República, in the heart of Ericeira. In between the trees a dry and warm scent is felt, and some crisps are heard among the street conversations. This is a picture that appeals to the memory of locals and visitors, and which renews itself for over 11 winters, every time this chestnut roasts docks next to Rústica, right in the middle of the town.
“I was considered to be the best chestnut roaster in the West”, João Mendes boasts, showing his undone grey hair, thin glasses and a grey anorak. This accolade couldn’t have been granted by a more legitimate source: his customers. “People have come from as far as Torres Vedras to Ericeira just to purchase chestnuts from me.”
João Mendes’ mother oriented her family in the art of roasting chestnuts, “over 50 years ago”. The tradition shifted to his two sisters, usual roasters in Cais do Sodré, Lisbon. “One day I noticed my sister Maria was roasting chestnuts and I told her, ‘Maria, how is that done?’. She then explained me the procedure and so I started roasting chestnuts as well” he remembers, between the “tac-trac-pac” of the heating chestnuts.
People have comer from as far as Torres Vedras to Ericeira just to purchase chestnuts from me.
This craft became a seasonal addiction, and from October to March he lives on his chestnut business. “At weekends I’m in Ericeira. I like a lot to be here. During the week, I’m in Vila Franca de Xira”, he tells. During the Summer, he sells beach products in S. Julião with his wife.
João Mendes is brief in his words. The hands, blackened by the coal, toss and turn the chestnuts. There is a incenssant motion of the oven. The tradition still continues to be what it once was, although the newspaper or yellow pages cones were left behind, which leaves the customers unhappy. “They ask a lot for the old wrappings, but ASAE [Portuguese health and safety regulator] prohibited these, because of the ink. That was one of the most traditional aspects in this craft, and it never killed anyone”, he says with a visible resentment. The newspapers and phonebooks were replaced by paperbags.
The chestnut roasting tradition is here to continue. João Mendes believes in that. “I think every roaster, as long as they’re healthy, will keep doing this”, he mentions. Despite not having family heirs committed to continuing his business – “I have a 18-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old son. They are studying, they don’t care much about the chestnuts” – , the best chestnut roaster in the West promises to keep the tradition alive. “I do this with pleasure, I really enjoy this.” He delivers a pile of coins to a customer and repeats: “As long as there is health…”
“Warm and tasty”
The smoke mist that blends with the trees in “Jogo da Bola”.
Esta publicação também está disponível em | This article is also available in: Portuguese (Portugal)
