It is appropriate that this is my 1000th review…read more A total blast. They kept us busy for 5 hours between shopping, cooking, learning, eating and the graduation ceremonies. Everyone in the class makes a complete Paella. Each student gets to choose whether they want to make a veggie, seafood or chicken/rabbit paella. The facilities are great. The class size is small, so it requires advanced booking. We shopped for our ingredients at the Mercado Central in Valencia: chicken, rabbit, 3 types of fresh beans, roma tomatoes, periwinkles (sea snails), smoked paprika, saffron, fresh rosemary twig and Bomba rice. We were taught ingredient preparation techniques, frying techniques in the paella pan and how to make a paella in any size pan without the need for a measuring spoon or cup. The chef is involved in every step of the process and coaches each student. The process of getting to add all the ingredients is not fast as each ingredient needs to stay in the paella pan until cooked correctly. The last step was adding the water, not stock. While we waited for the water in our paellas to cook down (30 minutes), we were served a fresh salad and steamed mussels with plenty of wine to wash them down. We returned to our paellas and added the rice and cooked for 25 minutes more. When we heard our rice start to crackle, the dish was complete and we then all joined hands and did the paella dance around the kitchen. The result was a paella that could easily feed 4 people, so expect to get a take-home container. The evening ends with a "graduation ceremony" and they sent us home with a cooking apron, our chef's hat, certificate and a paella tasting spoon. A very memorable evening and a good value considering you get a great meal plus the instruction from a seasoned chef instructor who answers any questions.

I for once, did not want to come here. 50euros for teaching me how to make something that was…read morepretty obvious. It's just like an arroz con pollo but shallower right? God, was I wrong. And I am ecstatic my friends made it happen despite me being a total bitch about it. You just can't make a paella unless someone who knows the deal teaches you step by step and you get to see what magnificent chemistry occurs after each ingredient touches that sizzling huge ass pan. What better way to learn the Paella, with Valencians, in Valencia, in a school that specializes in rice dishes. seriously. There is no way around it. You wanna learn the paella valenciana? got 50 euros to eat up? this is your 4 hour tour. 4 hours??? as we have learned, Spanish are not on time. They do things as they come, whenever they feel like it, so even though we were there at exactly 10am, we didn't start until almost 11. So be sure you don't have any plans for the next 5 hours (cushion). We were offered drinks as we waited, cafe con leche por favor, the way to go. We left to the Central Market with a few stops on the way for some fun facts... smallest building in the world? check. Parrot on top of the market. check. oranges all around the market inside, check. The tour person, Lidia, spoke English. Although needs improvement. I think if you have some extreme foreign language, you may not learn or understand everything you should've been. Half a chicken, half a rabbit, saffron, smoked paprika, various beans and off to the school. The experience is fun and they have their photographer take pictures as you go, they email them to you in 4-5 days... The market ingredients are purchased by the tour guide, you don't need to shell anything more than the 50euros and be left with a ton of ingredients. Get your chef paper hat, an apron to take home and you've been inducted to the paella world. Cute. For every 2 of us there was a pan (for 2). My friend is a vegetarian so they had a separate pan and chef for her, loads of veggie action over there. They got points for accommodating her and it was great. Thank you. Each step is done, the teaching chef makes they're own paella as we go, so we could see what happens. Translated as we go. We cut our own beans, prep our own tomato, it is the entire process were you grasp the concept of paella. Lots of work. Magic in the end. If you like the slight burn on the bottom of the pan, slightly crunchy rice, they cranck up the heat at the end, letting the rice crackle. When you hear that, turn it off. They call the crunchy effect, Socarrat. It is beautiful. While we let the paella take a short siesta, we were offered 2 types of wine (both from Valencia) and a salad to start. Then an appetizer. Needless to saay, we were efull by the time the paellas came to our table. As tradition, you are supposed to eat the paellas straight from the pan. So we dug in and i kid you not, it was one of the best paellas we had. Not too salty. Not too saucy. I can't explain, but it was so damn good we nearly ate all of it. I have to admit this was the highlight of the Valencia part of my trip. I loved it. It probably happened for a reason, so glad that my friends made me do it. I am back in NY and have made 2 paellas 4 days after coming back, oh yea, i bought a paella pan, the heavy duty, semi fancy one. Broke my back bringing it back, but it makes me happy to feed people so it was worth every kilo of it. An excellent experience. Worth the money and the time. A new found love for starch. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Gracias a todos en la escuela.