K & L's Travel Blog

We have never attended a cooking school in Barcelona.  We have done a food tour but this was a new adventure.  Several months ago we researched for our best fit (there are multitudes of schools and classes) and we choose a tapas and wine class that looked like fun and it was well reviewed.  The class ran from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.  

Our cooking teacher was a young woman named Renata.  I appreciated her teaching style.  She was relaxed yet detail oriented and kept us on task without rushing.  She called us all “chefs” and she laughed easily as she waved us through the market.  The La Bocqueria is a big market on the Ramblas, the main tourist street in Barcelona.  We had visited years ago but not been back instead seeking out the less touristed neighborhood markets.  What a surprise.  La Bocqueria does cater to tourists but the choices are phenomenal and the atmosphere is fun and dynamic.   Renata taught us how to spot the local in season produce, how to avoid the tourist traps (no corn on a stick- please) and to avoid fish on Monday.  (nobody fishes on Sunday).  We purchased cuttle fish and vegetables and headed back to the school’s kitchen.  

We had work stations all set up for each dish.  Renata took us through the recipe steps and asked for volunteers to man the stations.  I wanted nothing to do with the bread making and dessert.  Chopping vegetables is a breeze.  What I was interested in was prepping the cuttle fish.  I think I have it and I have vowed to go the market before we leave and buy cuttle fish to fix for dinner one night.  Lorena kept volunteering for clean-up but somehow ended up being the stirrer for our primary dish.  It was hysterical.  I could not stop taking videos and pictures. 

Here is a list of what we prepared: Meatballs with Cuttlefish, Tomato Bread, Butternut Squash and Pear Cream Soup with hazelnuts & blue cheese,  Coca de trampo (flat bread with strips of vegetables and anchovies) and Catalan Cream.  They had nice wine for pairing and champagne with dessert. 

The group included a mother and son from Holland, a couple from Vancouver, a woman from Palestine whose husband was at a conference and us.  We had tons of laughs (especially after the wine began to flow) and we learned some interesting things from each other.  

Lorena prepped vegetables, stirred the soup AND torched the Catalonia Cream!

We had a wonderful time and highly recommend Barcelona Cooking!

Many thanks to Stanley Tao for his group photo.