COME COOK WITH ME

Tapas, a cooking class. (Photo © Janet Mendel. Do not use without permission.)

Want to learn to make paella? Do you dream about perfecting the tricky Spanish potato tortilla? Or, would you like to be able to put together a tapa party? Enjoy a vacation in Spain and come cook with me. I’ll show you how to make authentic Spanish food—in my kitchen in Spain!

Private pool below the studio.

Next to my own house is a “studio,” a guest cottage built when my kids were growing up so that the grandparents would have a place to stay when they visited. Now the boys are grown men, I am renting the studio as a vacation getaway. Most of my guests are Europeans who enjoy one or two-week stays in this tranquil rural location with a completely private swimming pool. A few have asked about cooking classes, so I’ve added that as an option.

Studio kitchen.

The cooking classes, limited to two persons staying in the studio, can be tailored to you. Choose a single paella class—about two convivial hours in the kitchen and as long as you like at table—or a series of classes, such as creating a dinner party or a spread of many different tapa dishes. Market tours, wine tasting and other gastronomy visits can be arranged. In the season (December-January), you can help me pick olives and visit a working olive oil mill.

Classes are held in my kitchen.

If you’ve read the blurb about me (click on my photo at the left to link to my “welcome” page), you know that I’m not a professional chef. I’m a reporter and cookbook author. I learned Spanish cooking in tapa bars and village kitchens. The cooking classes focus on dishes from the traditional kitchen. Guests stay in the studio, but the classes are in my kitchen.

Follow this link http://www.spain-holiday.com/rentals/accommodations/properties/15306/Mijas/6/Malaga/0/Andalucia/Mijas.html to see description and photos of the studio as well as the rental prices. Click on “enquiry” to send me an e-mail. Mention in the enquiry that you are interested in cooking classes. We'll put together the classes that interest you most. Meanwhile, the studio is a perfect home base for exploring Andalusia. Granada, Sevilla and Córdoba are only a few hours drive.

Learn to make a perfect paella. (© Janet Mendel)

March 2013. Trish, one of my guests, blogs about her paella cooking class in my kitchen, with photos of the village market and the paella in the works. Follow this link to read about her experience.