The “Nata Pastile Minister” was right. The origin of the nickname of the new governor of the BDP

Álvaro was right. Nata pastels conquered the world.

The former minister Álvaro Santos Pereira He is the new governor of Banco de Portugal.

Known face in Portuguese politics, “Álvaro” – as they like to call him – has been, since 2012 and forever, marked in the heads of the Portuguese as “The Minister of the Pastels of Nata”as the Portuguese press has been happily remembered since the appointment to replace Mario Centeno.

The story refers 13 years ago when, in the middle of the economic crisis, the then Minister of Economy and Employment opened smiles and caused laughter at the DN Made in Portugal Conference. Newcomer from Canada, has launched a real challenge for the country: internationalizing the fantastic cream cake.

“Why isn’t there a franchising of cream pastels?”, Alvaro questioned at the time: they are as salable “like the Nando’s or hamburgers barbecues,” he argued in a conversation in which Portugal was failing in the export strategy of national products – also giving as an example the strong mushroom industry produced in Canada, “harvested and exported on the same day to Japan.”

Álvaro was right

His vision intended to show that with efficient logistics and good marketing strategy, Nata Pastel could be a global gastronomic ambassador of Portugal – and so it was.

Although the idea was ridiculed at the time – which earned him the nickname that “stuck” – the years eventually gave him reason.

The cream pastel is today The most famous Portuguese sweet Abroad, and present in pastries, cafes and food chains all over the world.

In 2014, the University of Aveiro began exporting cream pastels anywhere in the world, so that they could be eaten as if they had just been done after a minute in the microwave.

In the same year, Zap reported a “Portuguese Tasca” with cream pastels to be successful in and cream pastels with a forbidden fruit in.

The agency reported the success of the cream in, giving due credits to the now governor of Banco de Portugal.

In 2024, the famous Nata Pastel arrived at the big screen in the hands of the famous actress Emma Stone, who ate… 60 cream pastels to get the perfect scene for the movie “”, whose recordings passed through Lisbon and had the special participation of fado singer Carmininho.

It is easier to record sex scenes than to eat so many cream pastels, the actress confessed at the time.