Foodie Chap With Chef Antelmo Faria, Founder of Uma Casa
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - The son of Portuguese immigrants, Chef Telmo (as he's known) spent the early part of his childhood on the island of Faial in the Azores, Portugal, where his father operated a family restaurant. It was there that his love of restaurants and cooking took hold. He later moved to San Jose, CA, where he grew up eating well and learning to appreciate new cuisines.
The son of Portuguese immigrants, Chef Telmo (as he's known) spent the early part of his childhood on the island of Faial in the Azores, Portugal, where his father operated a family restaurant. It was there that his love of restaurants and cooking took hold. He later moved to San Jose, CA, where he grew up eating well and learning to appreciate new cuisines.
A graduate of the California Culinary Academy, Chef Telmo has headed the kitchens of La Salette restaurant in Sonoma, Tropisueño, Mosto, and served as founding/executive chef of Tacolicious restaurants in San Francisco.
A longtime dream to own and operate his own Portuguese restaurant, led Chef Telmo to finally take a leap of faith in 2015. After several years of fine tuning his ideas through successful pop-ups, guest chef dinners, and traveling to Portugal, Uma Casa restaurant opened in January of 2017.
As executive chef and founder of Uma Casa, Chef Telmo is returning to his Portuguese roots, and sharing his culture with the city he loves. The restaurant transports you to Portugal with cuisine from the region and a knockout wine and cocktail program to match.
I have known Telmo for many years and to see him have a dream realized is indeed a wonderful thing. We met recently at Uma Casa in my neighborhood, Noe Valley in San Francisco where Telmo shared his story. Chef also cooked a super tasty shrimp dish and one of my faves off the Uma Casa menu "Gambas Moçambique". The recipe is below.
To eat at Uma Casa is to eat at Telmo's house where good food and vino (cocktails too) and a hug from Telmo await as he works the room like a proud papa showing off his new kid. See you there soon.
Cheers, Liam!
Gambas Moçambique
By Chef Telmo
Appetizer
Serves 4-6 people
Ingredients:
- 1lb peeled & deveined 26-30 count shrimp
- 1 + 1 tblsps butter
- 1 tblps olive oil
- 1/4 cup finely diced yellow onion
- 4 minced cloves of garlic
- 2 tblsp crushed pepper paste (like sambal)
- 1/2 cup good dry white wine (save the rest for enjoying with the shrimp)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup roughly torn parsley leaves
- crusty bread for dipping
Directions:
- Over med high heat, heat the olive oil and 1 tblsp of butter.
- Add the onions and cook for a minute, and the garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add the shrimp, and season with salt and pepper, then add pepper paste and cook for 2 minutes.
- Turn shrimp over, add the wine and let reduce by half (2-3 minutes)
- Add stir in remaining butter, and toss in parsley leaves.
- Enjoy immediately with crusty bread and chilled white wine.
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