At 41, Rafaela Antunes, from Porto Santo, confesses that she has always been passionate about cooking. She dared to take part in a cooking competition organised by the Cliff Bay, aimed at amateurs and students from the Hotel School. She passed all the qualifying rounds as an amateur and won the prize, which consisted of working for a week at the Il Gallo d'Oro. After that, she did a one-month internship and ended up staying there for six years.
This was the beginning of the story of this professional who today owns the Rafaela Casa de Chá restaurant in Porto Santo, more precisely on Estrada Velha da Camacha. The concept is simple: ‘It's the food I like to eat at home. I even wanted to call it “Chez Moi” (“my home”), but there were already businesses with that name.’
Initially, the idea was to create a tea house with a long list of desserts, which is what Rafaela most enjoys making. However, in order to appeal to a wider audience, she decided to also offer savoury dishes. "Every day we have a soup, served with brioche and pastrami. Then there are snacks to share, bruschetta, ideal as a snack or light meal. We had tuna tartare, which is now off the menu because of the season, and we've introduced a new cod dish."
On the menu, we can also find ‘shrimp and pork belly tortillas, as well as swordfish, beef tongue and oxtail sandwiches,’ inspired by her travels to Spain, explains Rafaela Antunes. Finally, she points out that ‘the soup’ is one of the dishes that most delights her customers, who end up trying a little bit of everything on the menu, which changes according to the season and the products available. ‘We also have noodles and will soon be introducing new dishes.’
In addition to living her dream of putting what inspires her most on the plate, Rafaela Antunes admits that it is very rewarding to see ‘the gratitude of customers, who leave satisfied.’ Despite all the Herculean work that a restaurant requires, she confesses that she has been passionate about ‘the bonds that are created and the connections with other people in the industry.’
