Being Ferran Adrià for three hours

Become Ferran Adrià in just three hours? Let's say that the challenge is obviously impossible, but why not learn the secrets of Spanish and Mediterranean cuisine? This might almost be a perfect plan if we are visiting Barcelona and we also love cooking. The Cook and Taste workshop, given in English and French, is what sets the challenge.

On the Barcelona Ramblas, this cooking workshop gives one-day courses on Spanish cuisine that give not only the theory, but also the practice. Let's say that our idea is to make a good gazpacho or better still a paella; on this crash course for travellers who want to learn to cook, the first step is to buy the ingredients.

The professionals giving the workshop will take their pupils to La Boquería, the famous market in the centre of Barcelona. Mid-way between tourism and cooking classes, shopping for ingredients will also show the travellers this place that is recommended by all Barcelona guidebooks.

With the ingredient in our bags, we go back to the workshop. Here, in groups of 15, it is time to put on your apron and start to cook. After peeling, cutting, frying and cooking we finally get on with our gazpacho or our paella. Maybe the dish is not as good as Ferran Adrià’s, but it will be a good souvenir of our visit to Barcelona. And as food is what is important here, a Mediterranean selection menu and a Spanish wine will bring the workshop to a close and allow us to celebrate our success as cooks. Back home, a recipe book translated into English and French remind us of Barcelona and its cuisine at any time.

I need Spain

Spain