Max group size: 18

Itinerary

Madremanya

Day One
Arrival at your charming village hotel. Tapas and cava (Catalan sparkling wine) will be served before dinner, and you’ll meet Vicenç, your instructor for the week. Vicenç will make a dinner consisting of a specially designed menu of regional in-season specialties, featuring dishes such as Coca (a Catalan type of pizza) topped with Minorcan sheep’s milk cheese, roasted vegetables, and anchovies from L’Escala, Squid with artichokes and green beans, or Grilled duck breast with a raspberry and redcurrant sauce, followed by, perhaps, crema catalana and a local sweet wine, Garnatxa d’Empordà.

Medieval Villages and the Costa Brava

Day Two
After breakfast we explore two medieval villages of the region. We visit a local cheesemaker or a winery and then venture to a small coastal town on one of the most famed stretches of Catalonia’s exquisite Costa Brava (Wild Coast). We have a splendid lunch in a famed restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean. After a walk along the camí de ronda (seaside path) or a stroll along the beach, we return to the hotel for a rest or a swim in the outdoor pool. In the evening we have our first cooking class and a tour-of-Spain wine tasting session led by Mònica, the sommelier.

Conxa’s Cooking and a Fish Auction

Day Three
  Today’s cooking lesson will take place in Palafrugell in the home of an outstanding local cook, Conxa. After shopping together at the daily outdoor market for ingredients, Conxa will share secrets of Catalan home cooking. In this hands-on class you prepare dishes such as faves a la catalana (Catalan style beans), esqueixada (salt cod salad), mar i muntanya (surf and turf), or canalons (cannelloni). A fish auction takes place that afternoon in the port town of Palamós as the fishing boats unload their catch. We return to the hotel to rest. Dinner in a traditional Catalan restaurant in Ullastret, a nearby medieval village.

Girona’s Market and Cooking

Day Four
Today you will visit Girona’s fantastic food market with Jaume, the owner of the hotel and a renowned chef of the Empordà, buying the ingredients for your cooking class at the hotel. Dishes prepared will vary according to the season, and will feature fresh local produce, seafood and meats. After your four-course lunch paired with local wines, the remainder of the day is free to take a walk or a bicycle ride (many pleasant routes in the area), lounge by the pool, or explore the region. Dinner at the hotel.

Catalan Seafood Cooking

Day Five
Today your cooking class will focus on preparing Catalan-style fish and seafood soups, stews, and rice dishes. After a luxurious lunch and a very Spanish siesta, or a leisurely paseo, we visit Girona with its medieval call (Jewish Quarter).

Dinner at two-Michelin starred El Celler de Can Roca.

Biodynamic Winery With Grilled Lamb

Day Six
The Empordà Denominación de origen wineries have experienced a quiet revolution of late, experimenting with grape varieties and modernizing their methods. We will visit a biodynamic winery near the coast and have a winery lunch of lamb chops grilled over grape vine cuttings. After lunch we visit an olive oil mill and have a tasting of oils from Arbequina and Argudell olives.

Once we are back at the hotel our chef will treat us to a cooking demonstration which may be of Catalan or Spanish dishes, traditional or modern–as we prefer. Dinner at the hotel with local wines and cava brings our gastronomic week to a delightful close.

Farewell

Optional extra day

Biodynamic Winery With Grilled Lamb

Day Eight

The Empordà Denominación de origen wineries have experienced a quiet revolution of late, experimenting with grape varieties and modernizing their methods. We will visit a biodynamic winery near the coast and have a winery lunch of lamb chops grilled over grape vine cuttings.

Walking tour of Cadaqués after lunch.

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