Multicultural PortoBay with Chef Jörg Zimmermann

MULTICULTURAL PORTOBAY WITH CHEF JÖRG ZIMMERMANN

Chef Jörg has been at PortoBay for 21 years. The position was actually his gateway to Portugal. In 2002, the Chef left Switzerland, his home country, and came to live on Madeira Island with his wife and two daughters.
Motivated by his Madeiran wife, he started by visiting The Cliff Bay and had a trial period at the Rose Garden kitchen. He liked it and felt it could be a good opportunity, as his wife wanted to return to Madeira.
Arriving in a country where he did not speak the language, and in such a small region that he did not know at all, was quite a challenge! Chef Jörg tells us with a laugh that “the first thing I did was look up on the map where Madeira was, because I didn’t know. It was interesting to start from scratch. In Switzerland, I was a chef. When I came to Madeira I had to start over.”
The language barrier was the Chef's biggest difficulty, but what helped him learn Portuguese was work. “When you are thrown in at the deep end, you have to learn to swim. If everyone speaks Portuguese, you have to adapt and learn too.”
It was a sharp change in direction, but in Madeira he ended up finding his feet. “I was at the Rose Garden for a month and then I was at Il Gallo d’Oro for a year and a half, until the central kitchen project came up in 2004.”
The central kitchen was a very interesting project that allowed the creation of new products, and while initially it was focused on complete buffets, today it is the basis of the restaurants serving Madeira, the Algarve, Porto and Lisbon.
Currently, Chef Jörg is responsible for the Atlântida restaurant, at the Vila Porto Mare hotel, and for around 100 people in the central kitchen.

Remaining at a company for so many years is a sign that things are going well, and that is certainly the case for Jörg. “PortoBay has always been a family. It has always been different from my other jobs.” Over 21 years there were many happy moments and something he remembers fondly was the “Rota das Estrelas no Mercado” (Pathway of Stars in the Market), which was an event organized by PortoBay that brought several Michelin-starred chefs to the island of Madeira.

And what about Switzerland?
We asked the Chef to tell us a little more about Switzerland, his country, and here is what we found out!

“Punctuality and organization are two things that I notice is different in Swiss culture.”
It is no coincidence that people say “like a Swiss watch”!
If there is something that the Chef misses it is Swiss food, and his favourite dish is “Bratwurst, a sausage of German origin with potatoes and sauerkraut (fermented cabbage).”
And the natural beauty.
“Switzerland is a beautiful country, with very beautiful cities and mountains. Skiing is something that I also miss. Before I started working, I went skiing for two weeks.”

That has whetted your appetite to get to know Switzerland, hasn’t it? If you need more tips, ask Chef Jörg. We’re sure you’ll love finding our more about this country!