I’m going to be brutally honest and say, Maderia’s cuisine is repetitive! There’s a handful of dishes that are served up time & time again all around the island; Espatadas (meat on a skewer), Bacalhau (codfish in cream), Black Scabbard fish fillet with banana (says it all), maybe suckling pig (although that’s more of a North Portugal speciality) and

On the side, you can order Bolo do Caco, a lovely local bread especially if it’s oozing with garlic butter, cubed & fried Polenta (maize) and maybe a bit of. And salad!

Madeira salads are laughable! I blame the British for that! Like salads of my younger day in the UK, a salad here comprises a bare bit of lettuce, grated carrot and sliced onions. That’s it! There’s always olive oil and vinegar to jazz things up a bit. More exotic dressings are unheard of in the great scheme of things.

Before you think I’m being too harsh, these are the eats you’ll find out & about around the island, more often than not catering to the local market. In Funchal, there are dozens of superb restaurants taking things to the next level. These are mainly for tourists.

Madeira's volcanic origins have created a dramatic landscape that combines a rich, fertile soil with the bounties of the almost infinite surrounding Atlantic Ocean. Add in some superb grass-fed beef from the Azores and it adds up to one thing… totally incredible food!

One of the first things you’ll notice, even from your aircraft window, is the unique style of agriculture they practice here. Madeira’s main island is incredibly steep so almost everything is grown on narrow little terraces. I spent my first months in Madeira admiring and wondering at these quaint little quintas (farms), amazed that at one time, people lived in such abodes whilst tending their slim, mountainside perches.

Today, many Madeiran houses, certainly outside of the city of Funchal are surrounded by extensive allotments where the inhabitants grow everything from bananas to brochellie, mantiaoc to grapes. The terraces are fed by levadas or aqueducts, thousands of kilometres of man-made channels carrying water from the high mountains to the fields. It’s all very ecological and fascinating!

Farmers Market, Funchal, Madeira © David J Whyte @ Linksland.com (7 of 8).jpg

Farmers Market, Funchal, Madeira © David J Whyte @ Linksland.com (5 of 8).jpg

FARMERS MARKET

We make a habit of attending the local ‘Farmers’ Market’ in Funchal on a Friday or Saturday morning to buy local produce. You can taste the difference and, as we all know, locally-sourced products are better for you, the environment and usually taste much better.

The ‘Mercado dos Lavradores’ as it’s called here is a fruit, vegetable, flower and fish market encased in a wonderful Art Deco style building designed by Edmundo Tavares back in 1940. Take a good look at the decorative tiles depicting regional themes.

Besides that, it’s a great place to hang out and watch the world go by; where locals mingle with tourists keen to snap up the colour and excitement that seems to pervade here. There’s a great little coffee shop & bakery called ‘A Confeitaria’ where you can sit and enjoy!

Part of the building is the Fish Market which is just as photogenic. Here, fishmongers present their wares, large tuna or black scabbard fish among more exotic species. It’s all as fresh as can be, most of the fish coming from local waters. One word of warning - watch out for the butterfish. It looks, sounds and indeed tastes delicious but, trust me, eat sparingly. The fish’s indigestible, fatty oils can wreak havoc on the most robust digestions!

WHAT’S FOR EATING

There are a number of superb restaurants in Funchal and throughout the countryside. I’ll present a few of my favourites here although it’s a rolling voyage of discovery so you might find a few additions creeping in.

A great morning drive is up to ‘Pico do Arieiro’ where you can look down upon the clouds. You are guaranteed some wonderful views but take a sweater or jacket as it can be noticeably colder.. On the way back down, stop at Abrigo do Pastor or Shepherd’s Shelter. If this was the shepherd’s shelter he was doing very well indeed. On a Sunday afternoon, it can be packed with locals which is always a good sign. The surroundings are rustic and simple tables long to accommodate the eager eaters. Olives, bolo do caco (traditional bread), various types of sausages and regional cheeses, sausage in the ember, breaded frog legs, garlic and wine-marinated pork, liver lures in Madeira Boal, fresh cheese of Santo in cabbage, and so on. The Lavrador soup is almost a full meal. There's gratin cod and octopus a la lagareiro, but, then, it's the meat dishes that occupy a prominent position. Duck rice, grilled mixed meats, macaroni a la Camacheira, roast pork knee, wild boar with beans, shepherd's bean stew, various types of grilled meat, including Madeiran skewer, worked on the charcoal grill that always burns. It also includes rabbit stewed in the pot, kid stew and rice of segurelha (savory). On Sunday, tradition dictates that you should try cozido à Portuguesa (traditional boiled meats and vegetables). Curd cheese of Santo with pumpkin jam is just one of the regional desserts available there.

Just outside the Market, a local barber attends to his own grooming.

Banana plantations are everywhere, not your typical supermarket variety but a smaller, sweeter version, far superior to the EU regulated bananas we get in the UK. And my personal favourite, avocados are so cheap, you pay the same for a bag here you pay for a single avocado in the UK or US.

There is also 'Delicious Fruit' a combination of banana and pineapple. A lot of people, like it. Sugar Cane plantations are the next most productive and this is where you get the rum so popular in Poncha as well as pure rum digestifs.

One of the best places to visit to see and sample the variety of food is the Workers’ Market or Mercado dos Lavradores.

Flower-sellers wear traditional folk costume in the Worker's Market. They dance the Bailinho da Madeira, the traditional Madeiran folk dance.

Espetadas

Espetadas, a Portuguese version of Shish Kabab is a classic dish that originates from the island of Madeira. The most common meats are beef or pork 'skewered' onto a bay laurel branch. The dish originated here in the Strait of Câmara de Lobos and its here you find one of the best restaurants serving it, Vila da Carne overlooking the bay and fishing village of Câmara de Lobos.

This is one of the most traditional dishes especially immigrants and they have the meat on the skewer the proper way. They get a steel barrel halves and then put coal and laurel wood tempered with the meat and all across the summer, they have the popular religious parties called Arraiais' - like a rodeo. In Madeira, you have the church and religious stuff but everyone is eating and drinking outside. In the summer, in the west from South Africa, they pay for these religious parties and it's all about Catholic and mini skirts. Incongruent. The old guys are checking the girls. This is Madeira in the summertime. Arraial de Sao Vicente is the biggest attracting more young people after the booze and bands. But it's supposed to be religious.

In all these you have espetada and wine! Your family buys a stick! You buy a stick of meat and do it yourself. The meat is usually very good.