Making Paella: From Market to Mouth!

Información

Paella is more than just a meal — it’s a celebration! It’s what locals in Mallorca eat on Sundays with family, or during festivals and holidays. And we want you to celebrate this culture with your own special paella day! Join a local chef in his family home and learn how to make this famous Mediterranean dish. They say the glory of the “Mastro Paellero” (the cook) can last for days or even weeks after his or her meal, depending on the quality of the paella. How about you? Think you have what it takes to be a Mastro Paellero for a day?

HIGHLIGHTS:

* Learn how to make authentic Mediterranean paella with a local “paellero”
* Shop the local market for fresh ingredients
* Visit a village in the UNESCO-honoured Sierra Tramuntana mountains

We’ll meet for your Mallorca cooking class in Plaza Espana, and from there head over to a local market in the city centre that’s over 60 years old. It’s the kind of place that will appeal to all five senses, with fresh spices, produce, meats, and fish all for sale. We’ll buy the basic ingredients for our classic Mediterranean paella, and you’ll get to browse the stands, chat with the vendors, and discover how to shop and where to eat if you decide to come back to the market later on, on your own. And don’t worry: because we’re in Palma de Mallorca, we’ll have a relaxed shopping experience, not like in your grocery stores back home! You’ll have time to take photos, or to shop around with the help of your local guide.

Once we have all the things we need, we’ll hop on board the public bus and ride out to the Sierra Tramuntana mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage area famous for its beauty and panoramic vistas. It’s here that your local guide Ramon will welcome you into his stone house, in a little village. If the weather’s nice, we’ll cook outside in the yard; if not, we’ll cosy up indoors and cook in the kitchen. Ramon will ensure you feel comfortable and will give you some simple tasks as they explain to you the whole process of cooking paella from start to finish.

Your cooking class will follow the same rhythm as your shopping trip: slow. We’ll prepare all the ingredients with care, and you’ll learn about every step and the reason why each ingredient is included. Be prepared to experience every step of the cooking process with all your senses! You’ll smell the aromas, listen to the sizzle and bubbles, see the colours, touch the textures (we’ll make sure you wash your hands first!), and, best of all, taste the flavours! And of course, we can’t have hungry chefs with all that food around, so as we cook, we’ll also snack on some local tapas paired with a beer or soft drink.

Once it’s all prepared, we’ll dive into the best part: lunch! We’ll honour the delicious results of our efforts with some local Mallorcan wine, and then enjoy a homemade dessert with coffee or tea. Finally, we’ll finish it all off with a typical tradition for after meals in Mallorca: a glass of hierbas, a local liqueur. And ours is homemade by your guides! You’ll get to relax with your digestif and chat about your time on the island. Once it’s all done, we’ll take the local bus back to Palma, and you’ll have the afternoon to explore more of the city… or take a nap after all that paella!

Meeting/pick-up point: Plaza de España, in front of the escalators of the Estación Intermodal.
Start/opening time: At 9:45am.
End/closing time: Between 4:30pm and 4:45pm.
Languages: English.
Others: Included: lunch (paella, appetizer, dessert), drinks (natural lemonade or beer, Mallorcan wine, water, digestif), all the ingredients for cooking, public transportation fare.