Festa Catalonia

We began our Tour in Spain and now, 7 months later, we’re back but this time journeying to the fiercely proud, vibrant region that is Catalonia. Ryan adores Spanish food and culture, and Catalonia in particular is like a whole other world within the country. Time to get our 'festa' on!

WHEN: Live-streamed at 7:30pm on Thursday 6th May (can cook anytime after or Friday 7th May)
PRICE: £65 for two people (including delivery)
DIFFICULTY: 3/5
COOK-ALONG LENGTH: 1hr
WINE PAIRING MASTERCLASS: 10 mins

Ryan's destination notes

“Catalonia is somewhere I come back to a lot (I’ve actually been to Barcelona alone over 25 times!). In part, it’s the nostalgia that I love. I think there’s something iconic about the Spanish holiday as Brits. Since my childhood the notion of going away and having different food was often linked to Spain, it was a go-to destination for us as a family. But even if you’ve never been, Catalonia is a great place to start. It captures the heart of a lot of my experiences: incredible seafood, paella (when the huge pan approaches your table, you can’t hide that excitement), so much culture and history. It also has wonderful ingredients from the mountainous terrains to the coasts. There’s both comfort in the food and adventure, the perfect combination for holiday eating.”

On the menu

Ryan’s Catalan menu features three delicious starters including a plate of stunning Iberico Bellota from specialist supplier, Brindisa; Ryan’s take on Padron peppers with melted Tetilla cheese (Catalan nachos?); and English asparagus given a Catalan make-over. Then there’s the traditional paella that you’ll learn to make from scratch and finally, churros – because we couldn’t resist.

Salchichon Palata
Hand-cut Iberico Bellota with spicy broad beans (s)

Padron pepper
Tetilla Cheese, romesco salsa (n,g,s)

Catalonian ‘Grass’
White and green asparagus, olive and anchovies (s,f,e)

Paella
Traditional Catalan rice paella, chicken, prawns, saffron, bread (ce,g,s,f)

Churros
Dulce de Leche hot chocolate sauce (sy,g,m)

About your chef

Ryan is an award-winning chef from Manchester who has dedicated his life to perfecting his craft. Trained by the world-renowned Cordon Bleu, Ryan has accumulated 18 years of professional experience across the globe, cooking in London’s finest restaurants as well as for a myriad of celebrities, members of royal families and leading political figures. A MasterChef – The Professionals semi-finalist, and former Young Chef of The Year, Ryan is now Executive Head Chef at Rocket.

In the box

Each A Cook’s Tour ingredient is nothing short of special. As with all our cook-alongs, some ingredients are prepared for you such as the romesco salsa and Dulce de Leche dip. Other ingredients arrive in perfect condition such as the asparagus and padron peppers, ready for you to prepare with Ryan during the cook-along.

Iberico Bellota Salchichon
Spicy broad beans
Tetilla cheese
Romesco salsa
Padron peppers
White and green asparagus
Olive, white vinegar, anchovy Dressing
Paprika garlic Crumb
Paella arroz
Marinated chicken thighs and chorizo
Spanish pepper, onion and lemon
Peas
Saffron stock
Par-baked bread
Parsley
Purple garlic
Lemon thyme
Flour mix
Cinnamon sugar
Dulce de Leche hot chocolate dip

Featured partners

Wine pairings

About your wine presenter

Phil Barnett arrived in wine after time spent living overseas and many years in the restaurant trade. For the past 15 years he's been with go-to natural wine importer and retailer, Les Caves de Pyrene, and is known for his brilliant wine communication skills (the receiving end of which we have much experience at Rocket!). He is a great believer in natural wine and we can think of no one finer to talk us through our two Sicilian choices next week.

Tour tips: Catalonia

Our team is full of curious foodies and travel lovers, and between us we’ve covered much of the globe and eaten everything in sight (the good and the bad). So here are some of our best finds and recommendations, try to keep them hush hush, this is for us dedicated Tourists only…

EAT at Les Cols, Olot – A two Michelin-starred experience of every foodie’s dreams.
STAY at Montjuic B&B, Girona – incredible value boutique B&B up in the hills.
SEE the Dalí Theatre-Museum, Figueres – the most immersive culture experience, stepping into the world of Salvador Dalí and exploring his life’s art.