{"id":2567,"date":"2013-11-18T21:15:10","date_gmt":"2013-11-18T21:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/?p=2567"},"modified":"2013-11-22T10:15:22","modified_gmt":"2013-11-22T10:15:22","slug":"best-chestnut-roaster-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/en\/best-chestnut-roaster-west\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Chestnut Roaster in the West"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Text:<\/strong> Ricardo Miguel Vieira\/Hugo Rocha Pereira | Photo: <\/strong>Mauro Mota<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In a Saturday evening by November the sun still shins and warms the “Jogo da Bola” sidewalk, Jo\u00e3o 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 Am\u00e9lia and the Prud\u00eancio Franco da Trindade street, which flows into the mythical Pra\u00e7a da Rep\u00fablica, 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 R\u00fastica, right in the middle of the town.<\/p>\n

“I was considered to be the best chestnut roaster in the West”, Jo\u00e3o 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.”<\/p>\n

Jo\u00e3o 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 Sodr\u00e9, 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.<\/p>\n

People have comer from as far as Torres Vedras to Ericeira just to purchase chestnuts from me.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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. Juli\u00e3o with his wife.<\/p>\n

Jo\u00e3o 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.<\/p>\n

The chestnut roasting tradition is here to continue. Jo\u00e3o 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…”<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\""Quentes<\/a>

“Warm and tasty”<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"A<\/a>

The smoke mist that blends with the trees in “Jogo da Bola”.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jo\u00e3o Mendes and his art of roasting chestnuts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2295,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Best Chestnut Roaster in the West - AZUL-ERICEIRA MAG | O melhor da Ericeira<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jo\u00e3o Mendes, the best chestnut roaster in the West, and his art of roasting.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/o-melhor-assador-de-castanhas-da-zona-oeste\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Best Chestnut Roaster in the West - AZUL-ERICEIRA MAG | O melhor da Ericeira\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jo\u00e3o Mendes, the best chestnut roaster in the West, and his art of roasting.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/o-melhor-assador-de-castanhas-da-zona-oeste\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AZUL-ERICEIRA MAG | O melhor da Ericeira\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AZULericeiramag\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-11-18T21:15:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-11-22T10:15:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/DSC_2451.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1050\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"646\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hugo Rocha\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hugo Rocha\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/o-melhor-assador-de-castanhas-da-zona-oeste\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/o-melhor-assador-de-castanhas-da-zona-oeste\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hugo Rocha\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/#\/schema\/person\/f2eb4cfc7039b4fa1a1f8f40ffe98b40\"},\"headline\":\"The Best Chestnut Roaster in the West\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-11-18T21:15:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-11-22T10:15:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/o-melhor-assador-de-castanhas-da-zona-oeste\/\"},\"wordCount\":601,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/o-melhor-assador-de-castanhas-da-zona-oeste\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/DSC_2451.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"society\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/o-melhor-assador-de-castanhas-da-zona-oeste\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/o-melhor-assador-de-castanhas-da-zona-oeste\/\",\"name\":\"The Best Chestnut Roaster in the West - AZUL-ERICEIRA MAG | O melhor da Ericeira\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/o-melhor-assador-de-castanhas-da-zona-oeste\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/o-melhor-assador-de-castanhas-da-zona-oeste\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/DSC_2451.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-11-18T21:15:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-11-22T10:15:22+00:00\",\"description\":\"Jo\u00e3o Mendes, the best chestnut roaster in the West, and his art of roasting.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/o-melhor-assador-de-castanhas-da-zona-oeste\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/o-melhor-assador-de-castanhas-da-zona-oeste\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/DSC_2451.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ericeiramag.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/DSC_2451.jpg\",\"width\":1050,\"height\":646,\"caption\":\"Jo\u00e3o Mendes. - ph. 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