Salt & Sumac
28 June - 4 July
Coastal Farm Cooking with Spice First
Picture this...
t’s late June at Monte Meu.
The garden is full, the days are long and Sophie Fleur is back on the farm with her family for a week-long kitchen residency.
She’ll be cooking with what is growing, playing with spice, testing things, tasting things and making the place smell very, very good.
Breakfast gets a Sophie twist. Something sweet, sharp, smoky, herby or spicy might appear where you did not expect it. Someone is making syrup. Something is being chopped, toasted, stirred, poured, tasted. There is probably a pot on the stove, a child running through the garden and someone asking, “wait, what’s in this?”
For one week, food sets the pace of the place
What Is Happening
From 28 June to 4 July, Sophie Fleur from Spice First is in residence at Monte Meu. Sophie is a food writer, spice lover and very good cook who guides people through the world of spices with dinners, workshops, recipes and a lot of flavour. Her world is about making spice feel less like something hiding at the back of a cupboard and more like something you actually want to cook with, talk about and taste.
At Monte Meu, that means a week of coastal farm cooking. Garden vegetables, summer fruit, flowers, herbs, heat, smoke, sweetness, sourness, salt, sumac, maybe a syrup, probably a sauce, definitely something you’ll want to eat twice.
Guests staying with us that week will feel it naturally. At breakfast. Around the kitchen. In the small tastings. In the smell of something good happening nearby. You can also join the week from the outside by booking a workshop or reserving a seat for the Friday farm dinner.
For one Week, food Sets the Pace of the Place
Across seven days, the programme includes farm breakfasts, hands-on workshops, shared dinners, a garden visit, a vegetable BBQ and a special Friday farm dinner.
While the schedule provides a framework for the week, some details may shift depending on what is growing in the garden, seasonal ingredients and the rhythm of life on the farm.
Sunday
28 June
Big Family Brunch
A slow, generous start to the week. Food on the table, people arriving, the first smells from the kitchen and the beginning of Sophie’s residency at Monte Meu.
Jams & Syrups
Fruit, flowers, herbs, sugar, acid and spice. Bottles and jars for drinks, breakfasts, desserts or spooning directly onto whatever needs saving.
29 June
Monday
Monte Meu Breakfast
A farm breakfast with a few extra twists from the spice shelf.
Chai & Teas
Warming spices, garden plants and blends to take home. Less tea bag, more proper cup.
Family-style Dinner
A relaxed shared dinner at Monte Meu. Simple, generous, spice-led and made to be eaten together.
Tuesday
30 June
Spice First Breakfast
Breakfast through Sophie’s eyes. Expect flavour, small surprises and something a little different from the usual morning table.
Hot Sauce & Salsas
Fresh, spicy, punchy sauces with heat, acidity and balance. For eggs, bread, vegetables, fish, leftovers and every “this needs something” moment.
Family-style Dinner
Another easy evening around the table. Good food, no fuss, plenty to pass around.
Wednesday
1 July
Monte Meu Breakfast
A slow farm breakfast before heading into the garden.
Family Garden Visit
A visit to the vegetable garden that helps feed the week. See what is growing, what is ready and what might end up on the table.
Colourful Drinks
Infusions, syrups, fruit, spice, flowers and drinks made for long summer afternoons. Poured over ice, ideally.
Veggie BBQ
Vegetables on the fire, smoke in the air, sauces on the side and spice doing what it does best.
Thursday
2 July
Monte Meu Breakfast
A slow farm breaksfast
A Slower Day on the Farm.
No workshops. Sophie will be prepping for Friday’s dinner. There may still be good smells. There will probably be lists, jars, herbs, chopping, tasting and a lot happening behind the scenes.
Friday
3 July
Monte Meu Breakfast
One last breakfast before the big dinner day.
Flowers & Tablesetting
Flowers, edible details, colour, scent and the quiet magic of a table that makes people hungry before the food arrives
Monte Meu Breakfast
The sit-down moment of the week. A long table, garden ingredients, spices doing what they do best, full plates, good smells, people talking and that happy silence that happens when the food lands.
Seats are limited. RSVP ahead.
Saturday
4 July
Monte Meu & Spice First breakfast
A final breakfast together before the week closes. One last taste of Monte Meu, Sophie-style.
Workshops During the Week
Sophie will host a small series of hands-on workshops during the week.
They are short, focused and relaxed.
No cooking experience needed. Just curiosity, appetite and the willingness to taste as you go.
Jams & Syrups
Fruit, flowers, herbs, sugar, acid and spice. Bottles and jars for drinks, breakfasts, desserts or spooning directly onto whatever needs saving.
Chai & Teas
Warming spices, garden plants and blends to take home. Less tea bag, more proper cup.
Hot Sauce & Salsas
Fresh, spicy, punchy sauces with heat, acidity and balance. For eggs, bread, vegetables, fish, leftovers and every “this needs something” moment.
Colourful Drinks
Infusions, syrups, fruit, spice, flowers and drinks made for long summer afternoons. Poured over ice, ideally.
Flowers & Tablesetting
Flowers, edible details, colour, scent and the quiet magic of a table that makes people hungry before the food arrives
Workshop places are limited. If you already know you want to join one, tell us now. It helps us plan. If you are staying with us that week, you can also tell us when you arrive, but places may be limited.
Friday Farm Dinner
On Friday evening, Sophie cooks dinner at Monte Meu.
This is the sit-down moment of the week. A long table, garden ingredients, spices doing what they do best, full plates, good smells, people talking and that happy silence that happens when the food lands.
You do not need to be staying with us to come for dinner, but you do need a seat.
Friday dinner is open to guests and non-guests, but seats must be reserved ahead.
Stay with us
The best way to experience Salt & Sumac is to stay at Monte Meu while it is happening.
Wake up here. Eat breakfast here. Walk to the sea. Smell something cooking. Join a workshop if you feel like it. Sit down for Friday dinner.
Let the week unfold around you.
Stay for the full week or come for a few nights.
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