This week, Jeff, Donna and Donna’s folks all took a paella cooking class with Spain Food Sherpas in Malaga, Spain.  Paella has been one of those dishes Jeff has been trying to perfect for years and here was his chance to learn from the best.

The class started out with a food tour with our guide Marta.  She showed us a few little local family businesses who specialize in regional specialties including olive oil and Spanish hams.  Next we visited Malaga’s famous Atarazanas Market to pick up the fresh ingredients needed for our paella. The market’s architecture mixes a melding of 14th century Moorish with 19th century industrial design.  Divided up into 3 sections:  Meats, Seafood, vegetables/fruits/spices.

Next we arrived at the Labortario de Sabores cooking school and met our instructor Chef Amparo.  With the collaborated effort of her son Dani and interpreter Marta we learned how to make a delicious traditional paella.  A recipe handed down in Chef Amparo’s family for generations. She also showed us how to prepare a salad of salted cod, oranges and potatoes.  After the completion of the paella we all sat dawn to enjoy our meal with a local white wine.  We finished off the meal with local fruit and an aperitif of muscatel wine.

A big thanks to Spain Food Sherpas and the crew of Labortario de Sabores.