If you’re in Barcelona and looking for a unique hands-on cooking experience, look no further than The Paella Club Barcelona.
They have a variety of classes to choose from – I chose the Paella Making Hands-on Experience. I was later VERY disappointed to find out that they also have a cocktail class that I wouldn’t have time for. A disappointment for sure, but I was really excited about the paella class. Onward!
Welcome In!
I got there a bit early, so I sat down on one of the couches in their cozy shop, where I observed a few guests from the previous class leaving. They looked like they were having a great time and didn’t waste any time telling me so. Soon they were cleared out, and it was my turn to have some fun.
I was asked if I wanted some cava, which I excitedly accepted. And we were off!
Soon others arrived, and everyone did the polite getting-to-know-each-other thing. I knew from the reviews that they pair everyone up when they cook. This was a solo trip for me. Everyone else was paired up… until the last party arrived. 3 women. Perfect! 🙂 I had my partner!
Somewhere in the description of this class, it mentioned bottomless cava. Or maybe it didn’t? But, just know that the cava was FLOWING, and it truly was bottomless.
Tip: Cava is Spanish sparkling wine.
With everyone there, it was time to begin, and for us to get a rundown of how the night was going to go.
The Team @ The Paella Club Barcelona
Our chef team introduced themselves. They had extremely multi-cultural and impressive backgrounds. My daughter, a huge cooking and baking show lover, was ecstatic to hear that one of the chefs Lucia had worked for Gordon Ramsay himself!
Fernando kicked us off and gave some background on why The Paella Club came to be, and what their focus is. The Paella Club was opened to provide experiences that share locally sourced ingredients that showcase the local culture.
The classes are small and intimate, so you’ll get plenty of hands-on experience. Plus, the class is taught in a fun and relaxed environment, so you’ll have a great time while you learn.
More interested in eating paella than making it? Understood. Check out 10 places to eat amazing paella.
Let’s Get Cooking!
Time to get going!
We were led to the workstations, which were clean, spacious, and stocked. We all washed our hands and grabbed aprons before starting.
They walked us through putting it all together at the perfect pace, with tips along the way. Everyone made a different paella. We were encouraged to take in the wonderful smells of the other dishes, and the subtle differences in the way that they smelled and looked.
Oh, the smells, the laughs, the little stories, the Spanish culture learned along the way. Did I mention the bottomless cava?
As a solo traveler, this was such a wonderful way to connect with others.
Time To Sit Down!
Ok, our tireless cooking was done; now it was time to sit down and enjoy what we had made. That meant more cava, of course, with the addition of some red wine etc.
I thought we were going to enjoy everyone’s paellas, which would have been amazing enough, but no… there was more.
You won’t only have the paellas. You’ll be served a delicious authentic soup, along with a refreshing pre-dessert (yes, that IS and SHOULD BE a thing!) and a dessert (spoiler alert: you’ll get a recipe at the end of this post).
The food was delicious, the wine was flowing, the laughs were rolling… it was just a perfect evening. So much so that we were surprised to hear that we were kindly being kicked out… the evening had come to an end. Time flies when you’re having a fantastic time!
You can sign up for The Paella Club’s Paella Experience here.
Afterwards (AKA When You’re Sad It’s Over)
Afterward, they’ll send you a beautifully made 27-page pdf with ALL of the recipes – the different paellas AND the food that was served at the end of the night. Clearly they mix things up, because the pdf also included additional recipes.
Salted Chocolate Mousse
A huge thank you to The Paella Club for allowing me to share this recipe from their recipe book. When I was first handed this dessert, it looked like mousse. Then I tasted it. And Oh. My. Gosh. I really enjoyed looking around and seeing everyone’s eyes pop wide open after their first taste. I wondered what in the world is on top of this thing that makes it so delicious. So, now I know. To be honest, I still think there’s a little secret in there that I don’t know about. I will soon have to try the recipe for myself to make sure.
Ingredients
1 liter whipping cream (divided in two: 750g and 250g)
1/4 of a tablespoon of regular salt.
200g of 75% dark chocolate
Sea salt flakes
Extra virgin olive oil (optional)
Method
- Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl.
- In a saucepan, mix the table salt and the 250g of cream and bring that almost to a boil and pour
over the chocolate without stirring. - In a large bowl start beating the cream, until the cream starts to thicken and form slight peaks,
place in a fridge and keep cold. - Stir the chocolate and cream together until completely smooth.
- Using a rubber spatula fold in 1⁄4 of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture until no streaks. are left.
- Using a rubber spatula fold in the above mixture into the remaining whipped cream until no streaks are left.
- Keep chocolate mousse in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve.
Serving
In the desired serving dish, place two spoonfuls of the chocolate mouse, drizzle a little bit of olive
oil and finish with sea salt flakes. Finish it by garnishing it with any chopped candied nuts of your choice.
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