Freixenet Paella’s 21st Festival

Photos: Courtesy Freixenet

The paella valenciana is one of the best-known Spanish dishes in the world. It takes its name from the pan in which it’s cooked (paella) and being a food that has been internationalized, each cook has given it his personal touch.

Between the 15th and 16th centuries, it was created near the Albufera Lake in Valencia, Spain, a dish by the peasants who prepared their food with what they had at hand such as poultry, rabbit, fresh vegetables, rice, saffron and olive oil, mixed them with water in the paella pan and cooked it slowly in a fire made with orange tree branches, which gave it a very characteristic flavor and smell.

This tradition was motivated Freixenet Mexico to continue with paella’s fest. The event was divided into the paella mestiza contest on May 28th, where students from different universities participated by preparing a paella with the ingredients of their choice and the winning team participated in the contest on May 29th.

On Sunday, the “Valencian Paella” contest began, where each team of cooks had to make paella the same as the traditional recipe. To do it, the contestants had the ingredients in the exact proportions, so that only their style and experience made the difference in their dish. The winning team was “CROCUS Servicios Gastronómicos”, they will represent Mexico on September 11th, 2022, at the International Paella Valenciana Competition in Spain.

To make the dish properly, chef Jesús Melero imparted a Master Class before the contest, where the chefs gave them all the tips to prepare the perfect paella.

“To qualify the best paellero in both categories there was a renowned jury, which was integrated by the chef Jesús Melero, coordinator of the International Valencian Paella Competition in Spain; Martha Ortiz, chef owner of Dulce Patria, Ella Canta and Filigrana; Pablo San Román, chef owner of Restaurante Ekilore; Mauricio Salmón Franz, chef owner of Restaurante El Caserío Querétaro; chef Lalo Plasencia, founder of CIG Mexico; Israel Aretxiga, corporate chef and partner of Grupo Zeru; Sommelier Ricardo Espíndola, founder of the Mexican School of Sommeliers; and chef Israel Soriano, president of the Association of Queretaro Chefs,” commented Lluis Ranvetós Llopart, director and oenologist in Freixenet Mexico.

Paella ‘s Fest

At Freixenet vineyards, the atmosphere was spectacularly familiar. In addition to the best paella contest, Chef Soriano and his team prepared a tropicalized paella with products from Queretaro. Wine tastings, workshops, and the great experience of visiting the vineyards and the 25 m. deep cellar, were some of the things that this festival had to offer.

There were among the workshops, tastings of honey, chocolate and crianza red wine. It was possible to learn how tobacco is made and even the kids had the opportunity to create their own “Lele” doll.

Music and dance couldn’t be missing in this celebration. There was a DJ to liven up the event, Spanish guitars, and the traditional flamenco with their bailaores.