Last Saturday I had the chance to visit one of our university’s three campuses in the Region of Valencia, which is in Castellón de la Plana, and attended a cooking workshop directed by the students of the Degree in Gastronomy. Thanks to Campus Life I had a great day in the kitchen learning how to make Spanish recipes and at the same time, meeting new friends!

We departed at 11 a.m. from Alfara del Patriarca. In these activities I always see many Taiwanese students participating, among the Spanish and French – I think because they are interested in knowing the differences between the food culture of the West and their country. We had to choose either to go to prepare a paella or tapas (appetizer dishes complementing the main menu in restaurants). Since I have already talked to you about paella on my previous posts, this time, of course, I will show you some amazing Spanish tapas.

When in Gasma…

After a short introduction, we were divided into groups according to what dish we wanted to prepare. Every cook received an apron and a cooking brochure with details of the four different dishes including traditional paella, patatas bravas – potatoes in tomato and aioli sauce, morcilla (blood sausages) rolls and mussels vinaigrette. Of course, we were there to learn all the techniques.

At first, I stayed in the morcilla rolls workshop. Our instructor was Camilo from Bolivia. The chefs were current students and they were very friendly explaining us the steps and sharing their experiences in the kitchen.

Two hours went fast and the lunch was ready. We were all satisfied and hungry, as you know that the Spanish usually have lunch quite late. Then the surprise came from the head of the kitchen: a delicious dessert – chocolate mousse with cookies and strawberries. Believe me, we were all full!

Lastly, one of the students, César was willing to be our tour guide and show us the stunning complex. It’s a beautiful villa and the pantry is just one of the exciting things to see. The facilities are modern and it brought me the feeling of being in a MasterChef competition. The garden is truly a place to be: like a mini botanical garden, where every tree planted can be used to make food. I saw fig, apple, orange trees; tomatoes, cabbages, and many fresh vegetables and a variety of flowers.

We had had great morning cooking and making new friends. I bet you will be jealous of us. We left Castellón around 4 p.m., with a temperature of 34 degrees Celsius and with happy faces. I definitely want to come back here next year.

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