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Taste of Seville
Seville, Andalusia
About the location: Nestled in the Andalusia region of Spain, Seville will surely enchant you with its whitewashed alleyways, patios of orange trees, and hidden plazas. Seville is a city deeply marked by its historical roots. The long Moorish occupation of the Iberian Peninsula left indelible traces in this part of Spain. La Giralda is probably the most famous structure in the city. Once the tower of an important mosque, it is now part of a huge Gothic cathedral, and is the most well known of the remaining Islamic monuments. This culturally rich city is also famous for its tapas and Flamenco dancing. Seville is credited with the invention of the tapa—bite size samplings of a variety of typical Spanish foods, ranging from seafood to ham, and from vegetables to a myriad of cheeses. The city has more than a thousand tapas bars, so Sevillians make a meal of them by moving from bar to bar and trying one dish at a time. Another trademark of this region is the art of Flamenco dancing, which is said to be an artistic expression of the sorrows and joys of life, often accompanied by the song of a Spanish guitar.
About the cooking lessons: Today more and more people are learning that Spain is a top culinary destination —not just the home of the famous paella, Spanish omelette, and gazpacho, it now boasts some of the world’s best and most renowned chefs and restaurants, along with a greatly variety of styles. During your amazing cooking vacation, you can explore anything from great stews and meat dishes to seafood recipes, vegetable dishes, salads, desserts with a Moorish influence and so on.
The chef for your cooking lessons, Willy Moya, trained in Spain and Paris and runs one of Seville’s top restaurants, Poncio, where his creative Andalusian cooking has brought him recognition from around the world. He will lead you in a cooking course of about 2½ to 3 hours, giving you a chance to prepare a variety of dishes, such as: a selection of tapas dishes, popular rice dishes, Andalucian cold soups, or seafood recipes. In addition, you will learn to use such famous Spanish ingredients as: extra virgin olive oil, sherry wines and vinegar, and the ham and meat of the acorn-fed Iberian pig.
- Arrival in Seville and transfer from airport or train station to your hotel. Your accommodations during your cooking vacation will be at a lovely 4-star hotel in the center of Seville.
- This evening you will meet your guide Roger at the hotel around 8:00 pm for your tapas tour of the four best tapas bars in Seville to give you a taste of what Seville can offer. Many consider Seville to be the the tapas capital of Spain!
- Breakfast at your hotel.
- Depart around 9:30 am for the Sierra of Aracena in the province of Huelva, a mountainous area near the Portuguese border, about 55 miles north-west of Seville. Here the finest hams in the world are made from the Iberian pig. The hams are cured in the mountain air for up to 3 years, and are considered by some to be the pinacle of Spanish gastronomy. First visit one of the best ham producers in the village of Jabugo, a name synonymous in Spain with fine ham. An expert will show you around, explain the process involved in the production of ham and other pork products. At the end of the visit, taste the wonderful products along with a glass of the best fino (Spanish sherry).
- Next stop is the town of Aracena, where you will enjoy lunch in one of the finest restaurants in the area. You will sample the best local products, such as cheese, ham, mushrooms, Iberian pork, wild asparagus, artichokes, etc. (The dishes will vary according to the season.) The lunch will be accompanied by fine Spanish wine and end with typical Spanish desserts.
- After lunch free time to explore Aracena.
- On your way back to Seville, stop for a cooking leson with Chef Willy. You will learn a selection of great Spanish dishes that you can recreate for your friends and family when you return home.
- Dinner to follow based on your efforts.
- Breakfast.
- Departure around 9:30 AM for Jerez, home of the world-famous Spanish sherry wines. You will first visit a large winery in Jerez where you will see the spectacular rooms filled top to bottom with sherry casks. The buildings are often compared to cathedrals, and they certainly do give the impression of being sanctified places! There will be an in-depth tour, complete with an explanation of the unique process of making sherry wines, vinegar, and Jerez brandy. At the end of the visit, enjoy a tasting of fine sherry wines.
- Next stop will be a boutique winery that only produces very high-end sherries, brandies and vinegar. You will get to sample their wines and brandies, many of them tasted directly from the barrel—a rare treat!
- Afterwards, head to Sanlúcar de Barrameda, passing by some of the most important vineyards on the way. Sanlúcar is the second most important sherry town after Jerez, and is unknown to most foreign visitors. Located at the mouth of the Guadalquivir estuary, it overlooks Doñana National Park and out to the Atlantic Ocean. Among the other types of sherry wine produced in Sanlúcar you will discover manzanilla, a light style of sherry with a salty hint to it.
- Sanlúcar is also known as one of the premier destinations in Spain for fine seafood. Enjoy lunch at one of the fantastic seafood restaurants along the banks of the estuary.
- After lunch, free time for a walk along the beach.
- Return to Seville, where you will be free for the rest of the evening.
- Breakfast and transfer to the airport or train station.
