Fishmonger to the (Michelin) stars, Pedro Bastos shares his trade secret for selecting the finest fish and seafood

By: Alexandra Stilwell

Photo: © Nutrifresco

An immaculate catch

Known across Portugal and beyond for its exquisite fish and seafood, Nutrifresco has become an essential name on the order sheets of serious chefs.

Yet this reference supplier to high-end kitchens was born not in a boardroom but on the cold, wet floors of a local market, when founder Pedro Bastos was barely tall enough to see over the counter.

We met Pedro on a spring afternoon at the fish auction in Sagres, at the Algarve’s westernmost tip, where the fishmonger moves with the certainty of someone who has spent a lifetime reading the sea’s moods.

“By the age of 6, I was already accompanying my parents as they sold fish at the market in Albufeira and on their trips to the various fish auctions,” he recalls. “Selling ultra-fresh fish was both challenging and stimulating. It gave me immense pleasure. When you sell an immaculate fish, it’s like passing on a work of art – in this case, a masterpiece created by the marine world,” he says as we enter the large hall. 

The desire to gain a deeper understanding of the fascinating world of marine species led him to pursue a degree in Biochemistry at the University of the Algarve.

“It was whilst I was taking the course and helping in my parents’ fish shop that I decided to found Nutrifresco, leaving behind the sector’s traditionalism and creating a company where fish is seen and treated as a product of excellence.”

Today, Pedro leads a 70-strong team that roams fish auctions from the Algarve to northern Portugal. For the fishmonger, auctions are magical and inspiring places. “Imagine all the fishermen who set out to sea at night. They sailed miles to the fishing grounds, or discovered incredible new ones, teeming with wonderful fish. They managed to catch them. It sounds easy, but there was a lot of sacrifice involved; a lot of courage and determination; a lot of skill in the capture; a lot of cold wind and salt on their skin,” he remarks with admiration as we watch large orange crates filled with dozens of fish species file along a conveyor belt.

Buying fish at an auction is a thrilling experience, much like a poker game, explains Pedro, holding the remote control he uses to place his bids.

“Each buyer has to read the room and the other participants to bid for the desired fish at the exact right moment. The most intense moment is when we have to bid on a large, unique lot of a particular species that is in very high demand. It’s an all-or-nothing moment: either you get everything and can fulfil the orders, or you lose the lot by a few milliseconds’ delay.”

Born and raised on the Algarve coast, the young entrepreneur singles out three species as the purest expression of the region’s flavour: clams, red mullet and scarlet prawns.

“The carpet shell clam is the bivalve that best represents the ‘terroir’ of the Algarve’s estuaries. The aromas of the estuary are present in the clam’s flesh and in the liquid it holds. Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato is a fantastic dish when made with Algarve amêijoa boa, whether from the Ria Formosa or Alvor. Algarve red mullet, always well fed, is rich in fat. Its orange-tinted skin always has a flavour reminiscent of shellfish,” he says, displaying a gleaming specimen he bid on.

“And from the depths we have scarlet or violet prawns, which are without any doubt one of the tastiest prawns I know.”

As for selecting the best, Pedro’s creed is disarmingly direct. “We like to look fish straight in the eye! Freshness is absolutely crucial for us. It’s both a starting point and a destination. That’s why the company is called Nutrifresco. It recognises the two fundamental values of fish: its nutritional value and its state of freshness, which is very fleeting and therefore magical and challenging.”

But in the language of fine dining, “fresh” is merely the first adjective, not the last. Beyond freshness, other crucial factors distinguish good fish from extraordinary fish. “Ultra-fresh fish carries the pure, beautiful smell of the sea, with all its aromas. Its flesh has an incomparable delicacy and elegance. However, if a very fresh fish is lean, it lacks gastronomic charm. Flavour comes largely from the fish’s fat reserves.”

Size is another subtle yet decisive parameter. Pedro points to a 7.2kg turbot as the perfect example of an exceptional and highly sought-after specimen. As a rule, each species has an ideal size range, which is both highly valued and hotly disputed.

Professional chefs know this and aim to use sizes that best suit the requirements of each dish or preparation they have in mind.

Appearance also matters: “Just as special producers create unique products, experienced fishermen take pride in bringing in fish that have been carefully handled and well selected.

The fishing method itself can leave marks on the fish’s body, affecting its appearance and beauty. A fish intended for display needs to be immaculate,” Pedro states.

At the cutting edge of seafood handling, Nutrifresco also meets the increasingly precise demands of Japanese and sushi-focused restaurants. “Japanese restaurants place great value on fish that has been bled and killed by destroying the spinal cord, a technique called ‘Ikejime’,” says Pedro.

“For some species, such as tuna, the quality difference after this procedure is very significant.” Handled this way, fish destined for raw preparations develop a cleaner, longer-lasting flavour and a texture of almost silken refinement.

Seasonality is another important factor to bear in mind, as the species we prefer is not always at its peak. Pedro insists we take advantage of those that are in season, and among the day’s catch, choose the one that looks fattest.

“Some restaurants have fixed menus set monthly, quarterly or sometimes for the entire year. They end up offering fish that are out of season and miss the opportunity to serve the day’s catch or species that are at the height of their season.”

Keep in mind that sea bass and white seabream are at their fattest and tastiest from December to March; goose barnacles depend on sea conditions, tides, and moon phases, and are mostly available from May to mid-September; octopus is more consistently available; cuttlefish, especially larger sizes, are abundant from January to March; sardines, the queen of summer, peak between mid-July and August; and tuna, for which chefs travel all the way from Japan to buy, is at its best from May to early June, when its fat levels are highest.

“Tuna are migratory, ocean-travelling fish,” explains Pedro. “The species that passes along the Algarve coast is the bluefin tuna [Thunnus thynnus]. It’s the king of tunas, and the type caught in these waters is extremely tasty, thanks to its diet along its route down the coast, where it feeds on sardines, anchovies, squid and cuttlefish.”

Two days after our interview, Pedro recreated the mystique of the great Japanese tuna auctions in Olhão, celebrating the millennia-old art of Almadrava – an ancient, highly selective and sustainable tuna-fishing technique.

It was a one-of-a-kind event, with some of the region’s most prestigious culinary institutions gathering to bid on these magnificent, large fish, competing for a share of Portugal’s most coveted bluefin. 

In an era where conscious consumption is integral to refined living, Nutrifresco has made sustainability part of its definition of quality. For Pedro, respecting nature’s rhythms is not a marketing tool; it is a non-negotiable condition of doing business.

Some species must be limited or kept off the menu to balance sustainability with the demands of high-end kitchens.

“We’re guided by reasonableness, diversified consumption and respect for the legal closed seasons for fishing and marketing. For us, it’s absolutely critical and non-negotiable to avoid marketing any species during its closed season. There are ever more restrictions on the catch of certain species, and these rules are not always respected, either in the fishing sector or in trade.”

For Nutrifresco, it is a point of honour to comply with these rules and to extend that commitment to the chefs they work with. “We promote lesserknown species to take pressure off those already widely used.

We take as much pleasure in selling a spectacularly fresh and tasty mackerel as we do in selling a magnificent Norway lobster caught at 500m depth. Biologically, they are very different animals, with distinct growth and reproductive rates. Both are gastronomically important, but the Norway lobster takes longer to grow.

It’s important to understand and respect nature’s cycles. We very much try to convey this message of respect and understanding for the product to our clients,” insists the fishmonger.

“It’s a mission that makes me very proud: to bring the best Portuguese fish, selected with such care and gratitude, to the best chefs, wherever they may be,” he concludes, as a co-worker swings shut the doors of their refrigerated van, its interior stacked floor to ceiling with polystyrene crates of fish, meticulously packed in ice and ready to depart for some of the country’s most exacting kitchens.

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Fashion Editorial: Bold Vintage