Azores Situation Report Wednesday 1st October 2025
Father and son share the ‘kingdom’ of Azorean cheeses
In the ‘kingdom’ of award-winning cheese in the Azores, father and son share the business in different establishments in Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel, being sought after by locals, tourists and emigrants.
Carlos Bernardo founded the Reis dos Queijos establishment 47 years ago, which has been managed for 15 years by one of his sons, Mário Bernardo, and sells 47 varieties of cheese, all of Azorean origin.
The establishment has since developed its own cheese, in a project in partnership with Lactaçor, which is “pasteurized and similar” in its characteristics to the Topo cheese from São Jorge.
Mário Bernardo also mentioned that emigrants “take whole wheels of cheese abroad,” as do mainland tourists.
Another son of the Rei dos Queijos, Milton Bernardo, has shared the cheese market with his father and brothers since he decided to leave and found Príncipe dos Queijos, also in Ponta Delgada.
His typical customer, including many from the mainland, is looking for “a strong, older cheese,” but spicy cheeses aren’t just sitting on the shelves.
Milton Bernardo says that emigrants in the United States and Canada are regular customers, who take the cheese vacuum-packed for the trip and transport it in a box, with the corresponding receipt and certificate due to the demands of the North American market.
“Many of them come to our store already referred by other emigrants who have been here,” he said.
Regarding his brother’s decision to start his own business and create Príncipe dos Queijos, Mário Bernardo says, “there’s business between both parties and a market for everyone,” making it “a consolidated market.”
Azorean cheeses have gained an international reputation thanks to their numerous awards, with São Jorge DOP cheese and its cured cheeses receiving gold medals and recognized for their quality and uniqueness in several categories at the World Cheese Awards.
São Miguel Old Cheese, aged for nine months, also received gold medals at the World Cheese Awards.
Azorean Milhafre Cheese, from Terceira and Graciosa Islands, was recognized with the Superior Taste Award 2022 and 2023, awarded by international judges, and was also named one of the country’s best cheeses in 2024.
Jury asked for “a few more days” to try to privatize Azores Airlines
The Government of the Azores guaranteed “permanent” respect for SATA workers and revealed that the jury for the privatization of Azores Airlines asked for “a few more days” to conclude the process and give “another chance” to the consortium.
On September 9, the Finance Secretary said he was committed to presenting a proposal for the privatization of Azores Airlines by the end of the month, warning that if this did not happen, the option would be “private negotiation” or the closure of the company.
This Tuesday, the governor admitted that “there was an expectation” of having by the end of September a “firm proposal or the final outcome of the process”, but said he respected the performance of the jury led by Augusto Mateus.
According to Duarte Freitas, the jury “intends to schedule a meeting by the end of the week” with the company’s management and the Newtour/MS Aviation consortium.
“As soon as the jury president can confirm this meeting, we will naturally have an idea of the final date for the outcome,” he added.
The regional secretary recalled that the agreement with the European Commission obliges the region to “sell more than 50% of Azores Airlines and 100% of the handling”, highlighting the work of the Azorean executive in the negotiations to grant another guarantee to the group.
On the same day, the Government of the Azores authorized the airline SATA Air Açores to take out two new loans, totalling 40 million euros, to “support treasury resources”.Sure, I can help with that! Here is a rewritten version of your document: