The Yum Yum Factor

Francisco de Melo Palheta: The James Bond of Coffee Beans    In 1727, a Portuguese army officer named Francisco de Melo Palheta pulled off what might be history’s smoothest—and steamiest—coffee heist. On paper, he was just a guy bringing coffee to Brazil. In reality, his mission was an audacious cocktail of espionage, seduction, and agricultural ambition. Espionage, Flirtation, and a Side of Coffee The story goes that Palheta was sent to French Guiana with a task: get his hands on their coffee seedlings, a prized and closely guarded secret at the time. But the French weren’t exactly handing out coffee cuttings like party favours. So, what’s a clever Portuguese officer to do? Enter: the governor’s wife. Palheta cozied up to the lady in question using charm and a dash of daring.  She fell under his spell, whether it was his military swagger, his smooth-talking skills, or perhaps an irresistible  wink . And when it was time for him to leave, she slipped him a farewell g...

The last time I posted on my blog was 2021, but it's time to revive The Yum Yum Factor. We all need a break from things that once took time and headspace. I am in a different place than during the decade I posted regularly, but I am ready to get back to writing here. Even if it's only for me to document my adventures, so be it. Back then, I mainly wrote recipes, with some travel and Toronto food-centred content thrown in for good measure.  Where the hell have I been? I have been cooking in a professional kitchen since about 2018, which has changed my relationship with the food world. You spend your life fantasizing about being a real chef, and then when it happens, it's never what you thought it would be. There is a world of difference between spending days in my kitchen, cooking whatever I want in my PJs and working in a catering kitchen. I have learned more in the last 6 years than in the previous 300 years of my life. I travelled with my sister in 2018/2019 (the first ti...

Meet Luisa. Luisa grew up in Portugal, went to school in Belgium, lived in Spain and France and spent a large chunk of her life travelling the world while she worked in advertising before she quit to become a dressmaker, working out of her stunning former ship part warehouse space directly facing the Tagus River in Lisbon. Then, this past February, Luisa decided to change course yet again, built a beautiful kitchen in her warehouse and launched her newest venture, Mesa Luisa. Offering her version of the more typical market shop followed by a cooking class and lunch, upcoming workshops and private evening dinners by appointment  , Luisa has reinvented herself as a chef, hostess, guide and story teller in her hometown of Lisbon. Oh, did I forget to mention that Luisa's two children are famous musicians? Her son is Salvador Sobral, the 2017 Eurovision winner (Portugal's first ever win) and he won by singing a song penned by his equally famous sister, musician Luisa Sob...

Sunset over the River Tagus I just got back from a ten day trip to Portugal - okay, it was actually eight days in Portugal and 2 days in Paris. I did things a little differently this time as I was taking my big sister with me to experience Europe for the first time and didn't want to be a slave to my notes. I was there in 2014 so I wanted to let her kind of set the tone and let's be honest, I will be back another time. Or two. Or three the view from the São Jorge Castle  This time, although I still had my lists and my custom made Google map which was basically my google map from 2014 with a whack of new and exciting places to eat and shops to check out, we ended up just kind of wandering around and everything worked out just fine. The intrepid adventurers I booked one activity in Lisbon and one in Porto, pre-booked all of our airbnbs and a train ticket to get us from Lisbon to Porto but, other than that, we just showed up. the magical Quinta de Regaliera...

Have I told you how much I enjoyed being in Portugal lately? Well, we all fell madly in love with Portugal. In fact, I loved it much more than I expected to and that surprised me. I have spent a lot of time in Spain and I think I assumed that Portugal would just kind of be like Spain-light but after spending a couple of weeks there, I know that this couldn't be further from the truth. Not only do they speak a completely different language, their music is different, their culture is very unique and their food is not Spanish at all.

Okay, I hope you had a good sleep and are raring to go for your second day in this beautiful city. Did you know that Lisbon is the second oldest capital city in Europe, second only to Athens? There is so much to see that trying to decide which places to choose can be daunting and I am sure other people might not agree with all of my choices, but I have edited your itinerary to include the spots that I think are the most amazing. Get up nice and early and go get your coffee and breakfast treat  (see day 1)  . Today will be a day full of great architecture, history, churching up and eating and you will need something in your belly. The fact that will also feel like you walked an uphill marathon by bedtime should just be a given by now. Book this trip Tower of Belem and The Discoveries Monument Huge monument to the important figures in the history of Portugal Make your way to the Praca de Figueira to catch the #15 tram out to Belem.  Like on the 28 tram...