FARM TO TABLE
Private 8-hour Cooking Experience
Private visit with the farm owner
Fantastic organic food and drinks
Authentic experience off the tourist radar
Description
Are you looking for the most authentic food experience in Barcelona? Are you into cooking, and farm to table life? Then you will love our Farm To Table Cooking Experience. Together with a local guide, expert in local gastronomy and farm to table adventures, you'll take a unique journey into the Catalan countryside life. First, you'll visit a small-scale organic farm together with the owner of the farm, who will share with you his work and passion for organic agriculture and farmers' life in Catalonia. He'll tell you about local crops, how he started, challenges at the farm, and the very creative solutions he came up with to become a renowned vegetable producer in the area. Under our host's guidance, you'll visit the farming lands and pick your own fresh, seasonal veggies to be cooked later on. After the harvest, the farmer will offer you a tasting breakfast of seasonal fruit and vegetable where he will share simple but delicious local organic foods from the farm with you. The visit lasts some 1,5 hours, although sometimes even a bit longer as the farmer really enjoys showing visitors around the farm. Prepare for a singular encounter with one of the friendliest and most interesting people of our region, to be lived once in a lifetime -at least! We'll then take you to our favorite farmhouse in the Barcelona countryside, located a few kilometers away from the farm. There, we have set the most magical and unique hands-on cooking experience, where we will use our own harvest of the day to prepare a fantastic traditional meal. You'll be met by the owner of the farmhouse, who also happens to be a renowned local chef. He will give you a brief introduction about the house and his projects, before taking you for a walk to pick some wild herbs in their garden that we will use for the meal. Around lunchtime, we'll start our cooking experience - a unique cooking session where you will prepare a 3-course traditional Catalan meal, using 100% organic and farm-to-table ingredients. Prepare to discover our best traditional dishes, all made using your chef's own family recipes. We might be making calçots (the amazing Catalan onions) in winter, mountain rice and/or fideua (the Catalan noodle seafood paella) in summer. We can also cook traditional meat stews, omelet with wild asparagus (in spring), chicken with apple or other great local delicacies. We can also create a fully vegetarian and/or vegan menu, inspired by our traditional regional recipes. Since this is a private cooking class, you get to fully customize your menu between our seasonal menu options, choosing a combination of 1 starter, 1 main dish, and 1 dessert to be cooked. Using healthy, traditional family recipes and local, seasonal and organic ingredients, you’ll discover the real Catalan cuisine just like we cook it at home. Finally, it will be time to enjoy the fantastic meal you've been creating. If the weather allows, we'll cook and eat outside as much as possible, so that we can enjoy the beautiful views and quietness of the countryside. Fine regional small-batch wines will be offered to you both when cooking and as food pairings to celebrate your creations. Please note that this is a totally unique cooking and eating experience, getting you up close with the Catalan local life. This is fully hands-on. You'll get to participate in each step of the process. From picking veggies to making fire, cooking, and eating with new friends. You'll probably get your hands dirty, your shoes dirty and have one of the best times of your holidays in Spain. You'll not only support the local life, you'll also see where the food comes from and how it's been grown organically. This is a real cultural and human experience, and we highly recommend it to families with children, groups of friends and couples that want a truly unique food experience in Barcelona.
Details
Starting Time: 9 a.m.
Length: 8 hours
Available: Monday to Saturday
Inclusions
-- 8-hour private experience guided by an expert in local wine and food
-- Transportation in a comfortable, air-conditioned car (or minivan) for the whole day
-- Pick up from and drop off to your accommodation
-- Fully hands-on harvesting, cooking and eating experience at TWO different sustainable projects
-- 1,5-hour private guided visit to the organic farm in the morning, including the visit to the organic farming fields, the harvest of seasonal vegetables, and a food tasting with your host
-- Farmhouse and chef booked in exclusivity for your group
-- Hands-on cooking class with the preparation of a 3-course meal - traditional Catalan food
-- 100% local, farm-to-table ingredients
-- Fine selection of regional, small-batch organic wines to enjoy while cooking and with lunch
-- A few surprise drinks and foods :)
What they say about this experience:
"Farm to table experience – the highlight of our visit to Barcelona! On New Year’s Day, our family (of 2 adults and two teens) was picked up right at our hotel by a lovely couple, Guillermo and Christina. We visited some local organic farms, where we met the kindest, most knowledgeable farm owners and harvested our own produce and eggs, which we later used to make a scrumptious dinner! This experience was first class all the way, hands down the best part of our visit to Barcelona, and worth doing again should we return!" ~ Alisha Z. "Great day of farm, food and wine! We booked a private tour with Guillermo for the Farm to Table Cooking Experience and it was perfect! A short drive out of Barcelona to the organic farming region and we were picking our fresh vegetables for an awesome authentic lunch in the countryside. We really enjoyed meeting the farmers and Guillermo did a great job of translating the history and questions we had for the farmers. Enjoyed a quick visit to an organic chicken farm and meeting Laura the owner. The eggs were later used for Crema Catalana which we helped make and really enjoyed. Had some wine, traditional tomato bread and cheese for a starter, and lunch was an awesome fresh organic salad followed by chicken paella. The absolute best paella we have had in Spain! Learned a lot and enjoyed every moment of the cooking experience. The hosts for our lunch spot were very gracious and had a beautiful home in a historic private wooded area. Simply beautiful. Guillermo is a great cook and instructor! We enjoyed some nice organic wines while cooking and with lunch." ~Kim M. "A Perfect Day! We decided to splurge on the last day of our two week France/Spain adventure with Guillermo leading us on a true farm to table journey. My wife, daughter and I were picked up by our smiling guide and we immediately hit it off with great conversation, shared interests and gaining a deep understanding of the sustainable food culture in Catalonia. We spent hours at a local farm, getting to know two generations of passionate organic farmers, picking some of their wonderful produce, which we would prepare, cook and consume later. Isidro and his son are passionate about their craft and true stewards of the land, working on a farm that has been in the family for generations. We were fortunate as it was the beginning of calçot season (google it!), which runs Dec – Feb/Mar. Next we were off to a 400+ year old farmhouse to prepare, cook and eat a meal with the produce we picked, along with some bio dynamic wine and a whole lot of great conversation. Much of the cooking was over an open fire! We got to know the property owners, whose family goes back to the year 978 in the same location. 978!! Overall, an amazing day! Good to get out of the city and experience the countryside, and get to know some people passionate about their craft and wanting to share their passion. We’d highly recommend Guillermo and Barcelona Slow Travel – well worth the time." ~Lisa S. "Amazing Farm to Table Experience! What an adventure! The Farm to Table Cooking Experience was truly a little bit of everything; farming, cooking, drinking and meeting so many wonderful people. This was truly the highlight of my trip! You will not regret it!" ~ Elizabeth "I can’t believe it’s been 2 weeks since my Barcelona farm to table cooking experience. I’m back home now and my day with Barcelona Slow Travel stands out as the the absolute highlight of my trip. After the farm to table experience I now feel an even deeper sense of connection to the place, the culture, the land, and of course – the food & wine! I sent the Barcelona Slow Travel link to my friends and family to show them how much I enjoyed the experience and many have commented that they could see how much I was enjoying myself. Of course, they all want to try the porron, which is no problem because I bought one as my special souvenir and I now have it at home waiting for friends to practice with! Many thanks to Guillaume, Marta, and the farm to table hosts, farmers & of course, Chef Pepe for creating & sharing such a rich experience! Muchas gracias!" ~Kathy
