Category: gastronomy

Chef & Company

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chef co (1)

[click on images to enlarge]

The other day I spent a lovely afternoon at Chef & Company, a new culinary school started up by Carmen de Lara last December. Carmen has lived abroad for many years, a large part of that time in Portugal, and has recently returned to her native Sevilla. The concept of Chef & Company is a simple one: to create a comfortable and relaxed environment in which to teach people how to enjoy making food. It’s a lovely ambiance, like walking into someone’s home, first passing through the cosy living room and then into the cheerful well-equipped kitchen.

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a real hands on cooking class

I love how relaxed and “Julia Child” Carmen is in the kitchen, easily chatting and pouring wine while preparing dishes. We enjoyed a special “St Patrick’s Day” lunch, which included pumpkin, turnip and portobello soup with Guinness bread, Irish beef pot pie, and apple crumble with ice cream for dessert. As this was a media event for food journalists and bloggers some of the food had been previously prepared, but we all had a chance to get involved.

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Chef & Company classes and workshops are limited to 12 people and last approximately four hours. Custom cooking classes are also available, as are private dinners, and can be given in Spanish, Portuguese and English. I had a great time and look forward to trying some other classes in future.

Chef & Company
Jesús de la Vera-Cruz 27
Tel 697 118 252

Libélula by Chiqui Díaz

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dragonfly sculpture by Chiqui Díaz

Yesterday evening I popped over to the opening of the La Libélula Art & Gastronomy week. I was particularly keen on seeing the dragonfly (libélula) sculpture by Chiqui Díaz, as I have always loved his caracol on calle Puente & Pellón. I was also impressed by his Tío Pepe sculpture, which won a competition to grace the Rotunda Tío Pepe in Jerez. So imagine how thrilled I was when it turned out that not only was the dragonfly going to be on display, but Chiqui was going to assemble it right then and there. So I got into a “front row” position and proceeded to watch the show. I am totally in love with this sculpture and think it would look amazing on my rooftop terrace.

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[click on images to enlarge]

Art & Gastronomy at La Libélula

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la libelula

[click on image to enlarge]

This evening at 8.00 pm Art & Gastronomy week will begin at La Libélula, Sevilla’s first multi-functional art-fashion-decor-gourmet-lifestyle space. It promises to be a great opportunity to see the best works of artists Christopher Donaire, Barea Balcris and sculptor Chiqui Díaz (looking forward to seeing his dragonfly – libélula – sculpture), as well as enjoying a wide array of gourmet food and wines.

Throughout the week there will be various tastings: wine, cheese, olive oil, gin & tonic and coffee. Check the poster above for tasting times and prices. There is limited space available so if you’d like to attend you can reserve your place by email: contact@lalibelulashop.com

La Libélula
Cuna 45-49
Arte & Gastronomy
11 – 15 March

Gourmet Experience Cata

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GE cata (1)

Last night Gourmet Experience Duque held its first “interactive” wine tasting, presented by sommeliers David Castro and Silvia Flores. The setting was simple and elegant, and I liked that it had a nice relaxed feel to it. During the introduction we were served Taittenger champagne with oysters, which was a perfect way to start. Castro and Flores worked very well together – both are very passionate but with different styles that complement each other. Wines were paired with food from the Gourmet Experience tapas bars, and we were also entertained with snippets of contemporary flamenco.

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Corimbo from Bodegas Horra with pavía de merluza courtesy of Egaña.
We were also served a fab crispy pork shin with quinoa from Barajas 20 Tapas.

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Dido from Bodega Eneas served with pig head sausage from the Gourmet Experience Bar.
And fun flamenco!

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Stunning Stilton and Cabrales cheeses with 30-year-old Noe PX from Gonzalez-Byass.
Here you see Flores waxing lyrical – clearly her father’s daughter.

Watch for future food and wine events at Gourmet Experience Duque. I think that once the good weather arrives that big rooftop terrace is going to become one of THE places to hang out. The other very cool thing about the GE Bar is that you can purchase food and wine from the shop and enjoy it there. Corkage is 3€ per bottle and to have your food purchases plated and nicely presented it’s 2.50€ per item. When you combine that with the option of also grabbing a burger or tapa to go with it all you get a very interesting concept – a gourmet food court that is striving to be unique and yet accessible. The staff in the food and wine shop are very knowledgeable and helpful, and there’s also the bonus of having Silvia Flores working in the wine section to offer expert advice.

Gourmet Experience Duque
Plaza del Duque de la Victoria 8
5th floor – El Corte Inglés
10.00 – 10.00 Monday – Thursday
10.00 – midnight Friday – Saturday
10.00 – 18.00 Sunday
€ € € €

Orange Days 2014

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orange days 2014

Sevilla Orange Days (Jornadas Gastronómicas de la Naranja) is my favourite of the various local culinary competitions that have sprung up over the past few years. To me there’s nothing more emblematic of my adopted city than the beautiful Seville oranges (and of course their fragrant blossom – the azahar –  which became my internet handle many years ago and is now also the name of my website). This is the third year for this very special orangetastic gastro-event and each year it gets better and better.

As in the two previous editions, over 30 local tapas bars and restaurants will be competing to create the best tapa using Sevilla oranges, but this year there will be two different categories: Sevilla Orange Tapa with a drink for 2.75€ and a Gourmet Orange Tapa with a drink for 4€. Aside from the selected panel of judges, the public is also invited to vote for their favourite tapa. More info on Visita Sevilla.

For those who participate in the voting there will be a draw for 10 fabulous food hampers containing artesanal products from these local suppliers:

  • Inés Rosales: orange flavoured crisp breads
  • Basilippo: orange olive oil
  • Mermelada la Vieja Fábrica: orange marmalade
  • Bodegas Góngora: orange wine
  • Burnaj: orange sparkling wine
  • Obrador Valle de la Osa: orange chocolate

In addition 1000 kilos of oranges will be donated to local food banks and – this is really cool – on February 14 at Santa Justa Station, and on February 17th at Sevilla airport, visitors will be greeted with an orange and a brochure about Seville Orange Days.

The Alfonso XIII Hotel will hold two Orange Day events: an orange product trade show and tasting on February 21st from 12.00 – 20.00, and a cooking demonstration by chef and author Dolphin Cabrera on February 22nd at 12.00.

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[Sevilla Orange products – click on image to enlarge]

As always, I take my duties as Sevilla Tapas Queen very seriously and will be going to as many of the participating bars as possible. You can follow my progress on Twitter @SevillaTapas hashtag #naranjadesevilla. Meanwhile, here is a list of the participants so you can do your own judging…

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