Márcio Baltazar – Pastry Chef
Márcio Baltazar is a Pastry Chef at Vila Vita Parc, that stands out
through his amazing creations within the bakery and pastry industry.
On the context of his work in the Hotel, Márcio focuses mainly
on “giving the client a tasteful and original experience, because I
don’t follow trends, and I don’t like to create them”. He’s able to
create the most exquisite and eccentric items that will leave you
absolutely breathtaking. That happens due to his “creative process
because there’s always an original source. It can be a challenge or
even something that’s spontaneous that comes up!”
Although the pastry chef has created many incredible items, with
different styles and concepts, “at the moment there’s a need to
invest in the classical and traditional concept of desserts, and
through that, I eventually end up influencing others”. And with
a menu full of different flavours, there’s something that Márcio
makes sure it stays, and that is Portuguese elements on the menu.
“I always make sure to produce items that have some Portuguese
Mariana Soares – Oásis Bar Bartender
Meet Mariana Soares, the friendly bartender within the Oásis Bar
of Hotel Vila Vita Parc. Before her new life stage at this position,
everything began in Leiria, her hometown, where she luckily “chose the
training for Restaurant and Bar, and then my love for it instantly grew”.
First, she was interested in the art of making sophisticated cocktails
due to the “adrenaline I felt while making them”. She started on the
Restaurant industry, but after a while, she realized that the industry
was “a choreographed dance” and that the bar industry was “constantly
a new day because you never know what you’re going to get, every day
you meet different people”.
First, she was “an introvert person, so this position was very important
for my development because I began to feel more comfortable”. With
this position, she “grew with much more confidence”, although she says
that this is not an easy industry and that everyone must be sure when
pursuing this line of work. Thanks to her growth, she is able to establish
a bespoke relationship with her clients, “it’s a Portuguese way, it’s all
origin, in a way or another.
In order to embellish and create the perfect dessert, there are many
factors that the chef must keep in mind, such as the “visualization of
every ingredient and baking process whether on paper or inside my
mind”. Márcio thinks that that’s one of the most important things to
consider due to the opportunity of the “reinvention within a classical
item”. To reinvent within the industry, you have to think that “nothing
is defined by nature, we can create something and then it turns out
absolutely different”.
To get to this stage in his life, Márcio Baltazar shares a “massive passion
for bakery and pastry”. “I started to work as a bartender in a restaurant,
and meanwhile I applied to a kitchen course. Then, I easily realized that
I really wanted to be a pastry chef, due to its connection to architecture
and paintwork”. On his daily routine at Vila Vita Parc, we take his works
very seriously, to create the most amazing desserts, that is “according to
how I’m feeling, according to what I want to do”.
about the smile, and about the welcome greetings”.
Through her experience as a bartender in Vila Vita Parc, she learns to
love and appreciate the selling action with the customers. “I like to talk
to the clients, at the bar we have time to have a real talk, to play a little”.
She personally takes interest in interacting with children because she
likes to “interact with children, and the parents take that in absolute
consideration, with the bespoke details I’m able to reflect on the service.
It’s all about simplicity and kindness”!
