The Art of Patience: Slow Food, Wild Walks, and a Life in Ferment

I first encountered Fermen.table during the still, uncertain days of the pandemic. The setting was the open-air organic market in Santos, Lisbon—one of the rare spaces that still felt tactile and human at the time. Among the stalls was a collection of quietly labelled jars: fermented vegetables, alive with subtle movement. I picked one up—a sauerkraut blend, if memory serves—and from that point, followed the project’s evolution with growing interest.

Founded by Simona Dong, Fermen.table began not as a business plan but as a return to something instinctive. Born in Italy to Chinese immigrant parents, Dong grew up in a home where fermentation was not fashionable but fundamental: fermented tofu, mustard greens, bean paste, kimchi. Later, while working on a regenerative farm in Castelo Branco, Portugal, she began fermenting again—not out of nostalgia, but necessity. With an abundance of vegetables and a commitment to waste-free living, preserving food became essential. From there, a philosophy took root.

Artisanal, Local, and Alive

Today, Fermen.table remains true to its small-batch beginnings. Everything is unpasteurised, produced without preservatives or vinegar, and made using organic vegetables grown by nearby farms. The approach is refreshingly analogue—ferments are prepared by hand, in seasonal rhythms, and left to evolve at their own pace.

Rather than seeking novelty or mass production, the project prioritises natural processes and regional integrity. The result is food that is not only functional but genuinely alive—rich in probiotics, enzymes, and flavour. It is food that ferments slowly and thoughtfully, in harmony with its surroundings.

In contrast to an increasingly sterile global food culture, Fermen.table offers a tangible counterpoint. It addresses the imbalance of modern diets and gut health not through supplements, but through restoring the basics: real ingredients, microbial diversity, and trust in traditional methods.

Wild Walks: Extending the Table to the Land

In 2024, Simona and her partner Henry introduced a second component to her work: Wild Walks. These guided botanical walks take place in carefully chosen locations around Lisbon and invite small groups to explore Mediterranean ecology, edible plants, and a slower form of movement through nature.

The walks are as much about attention as they are about botany. Participants are encouraged to observe, to ask questions, and to connect with the terrain. Each walk ends with a modest but carefully composed meal—a sandwich built from Fermen.table ferments and seasonal ingredients, shared outdoors. It’s a way to extend nourishment beyond the plate, and to remind participants that food begins with the soil, the weather, and the land’s own language.

In both the jars and the walks, there’s a continuity: an emphasis on place, presence, and the slow accumulation of understanding.

A Practice of Patience

Despite the steady interest her work has drawn, Simona has kept Fermen.table deliberately low-key. There’s no rush toward scaling up, no effort to align with fleeting trends. Her values—craft, ecology, health—are embedded in every step of the process. To grow the project in the conventional sense would mean compromising its character.

Instead, Fermen.table continues as a kind of ongoing conversation: with tradition, with the environment, with those who choose to eat and walk alongside it. It is, at its heart, a practice—sustained through attention, integrity, and the belief that nourishment is not just what we consume, but how we engage with what surrounds us.

Fermen.table products are available in limited quantities at select Lisbon markets and through direct orders. Wild Walks take place monthly.