Cooking can be stressful. You have to juggle a million things at once. You spend the day preparing and slaving over an oven. After all that work, chances are something just won’t taste right.
In Barcelona, however, there is a little hole in the wall where cooking is actually fun and even relaxing. Cook&Taste is a little nook where those interested can learn the art of cooking classic Catalan cuisine.
Cook&Taste offers cooking classes to groups and individuals. It seeks to educate people on classic mediterranean cooking.
While one can schedule a traditional cooking class with a group or as an individual, other options are available as well. Market tours and walking tours are also offered by Cook&Taste to further educate and inspire the traveler on cuisine in Barcelona.
Cook&Taste has been raved about my the New York Times, the Miami Herald, Otts World and El Periodico.
Immediately when walking into Cook&Taste, the aroma of freshly cooked and chopped garlic overwhelms the senses. It’s like walking into a restaurant and immediately knowing it’s going to be good.
A friendly staff greets you, but wastes no time in showing you your culinary workspace.
The cooking areas were very clean and organized. Along the clean wooden tables were vegetables, pots and pans and all other ingredients that might render useful.
They also had placemats and chairs set up on one side of the table to sit at.
Once we were all settled and served mineral water and a glass of wine, we started cooking.
The chef leading our cooking exploration was Mario, a very kind man from Madrid. He was very enthusiastic and immediately let us jump into the kitchen.
Untraditionally, our evening began with dessert, crema catalana. It is similar to creme brûlée, what most may be familiar with. Mario joked, however, that crema catalana is much better.
Two travelers in the class volunteered to begin cooking the dessert.
To begin, they cracked eggs into one pot, and ground lemon zest into another.
A pot of milk was brought to a boil. The lemon zest was mixed with cinnamon sticks in the pot, infusing the flavors into the base of the dish.
A mixture of dry ingredients, combined with egg yolks, was eventually mixed in with the cinnamon, lemon flavored milk.
The mixture was heated as it was stirred, creating a silky consistency.
The mixture was then poured into tiny serving bowls, and then placed in the fridge to chill.
On the other side of the kitchen, other dishes began coming together.
A potato omelet, or tortilla de patatas, was in the works.
Peeled potatoes and onions were fried in a vat of olive oil over medium heat. Eggs were beaten into a smooth consistency, eventually mixed in with the fried potatoes and onions.
Tomatoes for tomato bread, or con pan con tomate, a traditional Catalan appetizer, as well as paella was being grinded against a cheese grater. This created a coarse marinara style sauce.
Additional vegetables were chopped for a Valencia style paella. Green beans, red pepper, sweet onion, artichokes and asparagus were being prepared for the dish. Two different types of paella were made, chicken as well as a vegetarian option.
A romesco sauce to be served with baked artichoke and onions was also being prepared. Tomatoes and garlic were baked in the oven to be mixed into the sauce. A nyora pepper for the sauce sat in warm water.
Sizzling sounds and laughter filled the building. The lack of expertise the group had in cooking was humorous. However, with the guidance of Chef Mario, everyone was able to manage.
After everything for the main dishes were prepared, the dishes really began cooking.
The vegetables to be mixed in the romesco sauce came out of the oven. They were thrown into a small blender, and then mixed with toasted hazelnuts and almonds, olive oil, sherry vinegar, stale bread and spices.
It was blended evenly and thoroughly.
As the sauce was blending, the artichokes and onions to be paired with it were baked in the oven with olive oil.
Chicken stock was heated up for the chicken paella. At the same time, the meat began sizzling in a giant paella pan smeared with olive oil.
When the chicken was browned, the chopped vegetable medley was thrown in the large pan, as well as another small one for the vegetarian paella.
Smoked paprika was dabbled onto the vegetables and the rice, the base of the paella, was thrown in with the chicken stock. The rice simmered in the liquid as it evaporated under the high heat.
The tortilla de patatas were also finishing up.
The mixture of eggs, onions and potatoes were poured into a small pan. Over medium heat, the mixture cooked until the bottom browned. It was then flipped over in the pan, so that the browned part faced the top, allowing the bottom to cook evenly.
Lastly, bread was toasted in the oven for the pan con tomate. Tomatoes and olive oil were rubbed onto the bread gently.
Finally, it was time to eat.
(Continue onto Part II to find out how the Catalan cooking experience really turned out…)
Kelly Hatton
Travel Reporting - CJC Abroad 2016 