Culinary & Wine Tours> Spain> The Cuisine of Catalonia

Spain: The Cuisine of Catalonia
Catalonia, Spain - 4 nights

Enjoy professional hands-on cooking classes with the renowned Chef Vicenç Fajardo. Traditional Catalan cooking will be the basis of the classes. The program focuses on fun and informative cooking lessons with a chef who is not just a professional, but who is friendly and who will make you feel right at home from the beginning discovering this wonderful cuisine.

Chef Fajardo has a diploma from the North Point Institute in Tafe a Brisbane, Australia, where he stayed a few years, and from the cooking school Sant Narcis of Girona, Spain, he started working in some wonderful restaurants in Catalonia such as Fonda Caner, Sa Punta and Arcs de Monells.

In 1998 Chef Fajardo started working in the very famous restaurant La Cuina de Can Pipes where he became the chef after a few years.

The program also shows the influences of all the historical periods of Catalonia, like the Roman invasion, and the Arabic and Jewish and its influence on gastronomy. You will be taught about this New Creative Cuisine which makes Catalonia so famous, and its origins.

Your accommodation is a beautiful 4* Star hotel in a very pictorial village called Madremanya, with a perfectly well preserved medieval architecture. It is surrounded by nature, very close to the city of Girona on one side and the sea on the other.

Upon your arrival you will be welcomed by the owners and shown to your rooms. The warm colours of this 15th century farmhouse, the perfume of the fields in the neighbourhoods and the lights will allure you immediately. The hotel has 4 Suites, as well as 3 doubles bedrooms including one with a terrace. The Suites and the bedrooms are decorated with care and taste, and each have a chimney, bathroom and living room. You will also enjoy a beautiful garden, and a large swimming pool.

Catalonia, Spain

ITINERARY

Day One (Monday)

4:00 pm - Transfer from Barcelona to your Hotel: La Plaça de Madremanya

8:00 pm - Welcome dinner in the Old Quarter of Girona: Catalan assortment of “tapas”, to have a first taste of Catalan specialities, with some excellent Spanish wines.

A wonderful start to a very special week!

Day Two (Tuesday)

9:30 am - After a complete breakfast at the hotel, we will visit Girona : the Jewish quarter and the Gothic Cathedral with its museum.

The first inhabitants of Girona were the Iberians. Then came the Romans who built a fortification there, which was named Gerunda. After having been occupied by a number of cultures, Girona finally fell under control by the Holy Roman Empire. In the 12 th century, the Jewish community flourished. However, the Catholic kings drove the Jews away from Spain in 1492. Later on, in the 17th to 18th century,  fell under siege by the French, and it was conquered by Napoleon in 1809. The walls of the city were destroyed in the 19th century. Today, the city is a rich heritage site full of historic and cultural beauty.

1:00 pm - Lunch in a Catalan restaurant with some fantastic cheeses and desserts. The restaurant is in the old quarter of Girona, very close to the Cathedral. Traditional cuisine in a modern but warm designed restaurant.

Back to the hotel for a rest.

5:30 pm - First cooking class : Catalan traditional. Today Vicenç will explain the origin of some recipes and the evolution of them, while you cook with him.

Dinner of what you have prepared in the restaurant of the hotel, with a selection of wines by Monica, Vicenç’s wife, who will educate you on Catalan wines.

Complete menu with wines.

Day Three (Wednesday)

9:30 am - After a complete breakfast at the hotel we will visit Besalu, a medieval town with Roman, Jewish and Arabic influence, with an English speaking guide.

11:00 am - Visit to an olive oil factory near Besalu.

1:30 pm - Lunch in a typical Catalan restaurant near Besalu.

Back to the hotel for a rest.

5:30 pm - Second cooking class : Catalan “tapas”. Today Vicenç will delight us with a mix of modern and traditional small dishes called “tapas”.

Dinner of your preparations.

Complete menu with Catalan wines.

Day Four (Thursday)

9:30 am - Visit to a chocolate factory. Here you will meet a fantastic creative chocolate Chef. We will have a taste of a few different bombons and you will learn about the process of how to balance the flavours.

10:30 am - Visit to a cheese factory. You will see how fresh goat cheese is made, as well as the ever so famous Spanish dry cheese.

Free time at the hotel for some relaxation by the pool.

Lunch on your own (normally a light lunch in preparation for a wonderful dinner!)

5:30 pm - Visit of a vineyard with a complete wine tasting.

9:00 pm - Dinner at a one Michelin star restaurant, El Rebost d’en Pere, run by a talented young couple. Complete menu with wines.

Overnight at the hotel.

Day Five (Friday)

10:00 am - Transfer to Barcelona.

For further inquiries or to register, click here.



CANCELLATION POLICY

-If client cancels within 8 days before the start of the tour, the total amount of the tour will be refunded except the 500€ deposit and booking fee.

-If client cancels 7 days or less before the start of the tour, no monies will be returned. If operator cancels a tour, at any date, all monies will be refunded except booking fee will be applied to a future tour.  

Travel insurance is highly recommended.

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