Mesa Nacional, Pé na Água, Porto Santo

In this episode, we went to Porto Santo, Madeira. We collected limpets, ate barnacles, tuna, and bolo do caco (a type of bread). Beyond the beauty of the island, so often plundered by pirates and corsairs, Porto Santo hides other treasures that don't inspire covetousness but only gluttony. One of them has Arab origins but has become the hallmark of the entire Madeira region: bolo do caco. Ricardo Ferreira owns the restaurant Pé na Água. He lives the dream of doing something completely different from what he had always done. He stopped selling cars, left behind stability, and came to the middle of the Atlantic to sell food. Isidro, Zé Manuel, and Simplício have been diving together for years. They know the nooks and crannies of the fish. They have their professions, but at sea they are just fishermen. My friend Melim had promised limpets from Porto Santo and another shellfish that few associate with the island and which is yet another of the gastronomic improbabilities. Barnacles.