Cooking School in Barcelona

Apologies for the delay since the last post.  Time and technology have precluded spending time on the computer.  However, we are at sea today and have been able to get online.

We were able to book a cooking class while we were in Barcelona with a company called Cook and Taste.  Needless to say, we were pretty excited to learn how to cook traditional Catalan dishes as well as go on a tour of the La Boqueria market with the chef.

Let me start by saying that the day we were scheduled for cooking school and trip to the market, "the rain in Spain DID NOT stay mainly in the plain"!  It rained nearly all day Friday, with the hardest rains coming just as we were trying to head toward Cook and Taste
Because of the speed at which pictures can be uploaded, I have had to select just a few to post.  Hopefully it will be enough to give you an idea the fun we had.

 After the market tour, we wove our way back through the streets of Barcelona to Cook and Taste.

 There were 14 people in our class from as far away as Australia and "close" as New York, Chicago, Texas and Arkansas.

 The menu included:
* Spanish tortilla (similar to a potato omelet)
* Cold tomato soup (not gazpacho)
* Tomato bread
* Paella
* Cream Catalan

Peeling potatoes for the tortilla.

Yes, we also enjoyed some tasty Spanish wines.

Chef Ignacio (far left) giving instruction on preparing the tomatoes for the soup.

No food processors here!  Making pesto by hand with a mortar and pestle.
Spouts on the mortar for pouring in the olive oil.

Now that's a paella pan (and special burner)!

Tomato bread, tortilla and cold soup.

Paella!

Chef sprinkling sugar that will subsequently get "torched" to a golden brown.

Cream Catalan with fresh berries.  Deeeee-licious!

It is fair to say we had a delightful time and enjoyed meeting so many new people with similar interests in cooking and food.

Thank you, Chef Ignacio, for a fun and tasty evening!