Cook 'n' Taste, Catalonia Style

Hello everyone! I thought I'd share with you the most culinary experience of my life to date. What does that mean, you ask? Well here it goes. 

CIEE had been hyping this thing called the “Cook ‘n’ Taste” for a long time. When we applied to the program, photos from previous Cook ‘n’ Tastes were all over the website so we knew it had to be a landmark night. It’s basically an all-night ordeal where you and a group prepare a four-course traditional Spanish meal from scratch. Luckily, you have a professional chef there to aid you and make fun of you when necessary.

I didn’t know what to expect – would they actually make me do a lot? Please don’t make me tell you when the chicken’s ready or scare me with words like “mince,” “garnish,” or “zest,” I thought. Alright, well maybe those words aren’t too bad.

So a group of 20 of us showed up to this kitchen that looks like it’s straight out of Ratatouille. We broke up into groups of ten each, and I ended up at a table of 8 girls and 2 guys, while the other table had about 6 guys and 4 girls. I’m not into gender profiling, but I admit that I was confident I was at the right table.

We had an all-star menu lined up – starting off with a cold tomato Gespacho soup, followed by the Spanish Tortilla, then by an authentic Seafood Paella, and finally a Crema de Catalunya (crème bruleé, but “better since it’s Catalán”) to top things off.

Two at a time, we stepped up to the plate donning aprons to make our humble contribution. Megan’s part was to “zest” the lemon (she knew what to do) and mix the custard for the Crema de Catalunya. It was pretty monotonous and lacked awesomeness, but she did well nonetheless. 

Mine, on the other hand, was to skin the potatoes and dice the onions for the Spanish Tortilla (not to be confused with a Mexican tortilla – Google it). I enjoyed using a large sharp knife to cut the onions, and I learned from our bearded, relaxed chef how to do so efficiently. Pealing the potatoes was interesting - it felt like I was using a dull razor on a heavily bearded man, like our chef.

For the rest of the night, my stomach turned as I watched the others cut up squid and shrimp for the Paella and cook it on a big family pot. I passed the time and ignored the hunger by talking to one of the Spanish guardian angels, Fran, for a while. It was one of the first times I've gotten to have a long conversation in Spanish here.

At around 10 PM, we finally got to dig in on our creation. We ate the tomato soup first, but I was disappointed that it was served as a small “chupito” – Spanish for ‘shot.’ Other people at the table were disappointed that it wasn’t a chupito of something else. All in all, it was muy bueno! It was the first time I had eaten a real, gourmet Paella since I’ve been here. Now I’m looking forward to the next one.

The night was topped off by some real excitement. The chef needed someone to torch the Crema de Catalunya so they’d have the hard layer of sugar on top. A mini-flamethrower? On sugar? I’m there.  Megan did it with me and we had a good, albeit tense time.

The bear himself cooking the Paella. Look at the size of that pan.

Close up...the keys to the Paella: Safron (an expensive way to color it) and I think virgin olive oil (he said never to use water). 

The complex zesting process. 

Professional peeler. 

Happily anticipating the torching fun.

Soon it would be my turn, and she wouldn't be smiling...

At the end of the night, we bid adieu to the bearded, Galician wonder-chef and went to sleep filled with a superb Spanish dinner. It was all the more fulfilling knowing that you played a small part. It was definitely one of my best nights in Barcelona!