Chef Demo: Barcelona's Chef Helton DaSilva @ WFM July 19

This Thursday, July 19th, a little bit of Spain is making its way down to Westport in the form of Executive Chef Helton DaSilva from Barcelona Wine Bar & Restaurant. 

Chef DaSilva, of Barcelona in Fairfield, will be keeping it cool as this heat wave passes, with two salads this Thursday. His first demonstration, a chilled green bean salad with almonds and olives is perfect alone or as an accoutrement to just about any summer dish. The second, a cucumber mint and cilantro salad, is crisp and light, sure to awaken your taste buds. With the exception of the almonds and olives, all of the vegetables in these salads are sourced locally, from Barcelona’s very own garden in Fairfield. 

Chef DaSilva moved to the United States when he was a teenager, after spending the majority of his early years on family farms in Brazil. Growing up in a farm-to-table atmosphere made it easy for Chef DaSilva to adapt quickly to the culinary scene in the US, using his knowledge of meat curing, cheese making, and the “simple seasoning cooking” that Barcelona is founded on, to start his career. Since graduating Culinary School, DaSilva has cooked at various Barcelona locations including South Norwalk, Stamford, New Haven and now as the Executive Chef in Fairfield. 

Though Barcelona is lucky enough to have their own garden to source from, they often turn to local farms to provide what they cannot.  In fact, Barcelona is such a strong advocate of sourcing locally, that this summer they put together the Barcelona Farmigo Program. In hopes of encouraging people to shop local, Barcelona is partnering with local farms and bringing them to YOU every Tuesday.  With a selection of vegetables, artisan breads, free-range eggs and more, you decide what you would like in your basket when you sign up for the program online, then pick it up every Tuesday from 3pm-8pm.  If you can’t quite make it out to the Farmers’ Markets or are looking for another way to shop locally this is a great opportunity to support the community.

Chef Dasilva’s creativity, passion, and (from what I’ve heard) charm continue to impress diners as he successfully serves up some of the best tapas in town. I know where I’ll be spending my Thursday afternoon, hope to see you all at the Market!