Meet
Josh
Josh grew up in Portland, Oregon and moved to Spain in 2002 to improve his Spanish. He ended up moving there permanently because he fell in love with the country's language and culture. He translated and interpreted for a while before realizing his passion for food. Josh first started cooking in his childhood, exploring spices and different ingredients. He then learned about different ways of cooking in Spain and appreciated relying on quality of ingredients to make amazing flavors. He loved the shift from depending on spices to using time and careful preparation of the best, freshest ingredients to create incredible meals. He loves the variety of fresh seafood available in Spain and learned from friends' grandmothers and fathers, learning their favorite family recipes. Josh opened up a cooking studio a few years ago to teach travelers about the region's amazing ingredients and to communicate what he loves about the area's local history and food culture through a shared food experience. Josh is also a percussionist in band and he will be happy to share his favorite local music recommendations (and even play them on the sound system)!
What to expect
Please note menu might vary. If there are particular dishes you are interested in trying, please include your request in the booking form.
In-home meal:
(2-14 guests)
Your experience takes place at Josh’s cooking studio, which was built in 1892 and features original classic Barcelona tile flooring, windows and trim, along with a dining room and professional kitchen. It is located in the Eixample district of Barcelona, which is easy to reach via public transport and is very pedestrian-friendly, with wide streets and minimal inclines. The place has a special and classic feel, decorated with magazines from the 1950s that people can leaf through while lounging in the vintage furniture. Enjoy your meal together with Josh in the dining room of his cooking studio while you talk about food, travel, music and Catalonia. A few dishes that you might enjoy are suquet de peix (fish soup), esqueixada (salad), calamares encebollados (squids) or xistorra (special type of chorizo) and of course paella! Armed with information about Spanish food and culture, finish your meal with a tasty local dessert. Sangria is included in the cost of your experience.
Cooking experience:
(2-14 guests)
Josh’s cooking studio is an apartment converted into a cooking space with a modern, professional-grade kitchen and 1800s-style dining room. The class starts with chopping up fruit to prepare the sangria, the perfect way to start your experience! Then, Josh will take you through the step-by-step stages of preparing the seafood for your paella. Learn some of Josh's favorite basic culinary tips, like how to make flavorful fish stock using local rock fish. Expect a hands-on cooking class - Josh's philosophy is that you will learn to cook only by doing it! As Josh details the different ingredients and techniques of your dishes, you will prepare a traditional paella together. At the end of the class, Josh will offer you a chance to caramelize the sugar on the top of your own crema catlana dessert!
Market visit:
(2-14 guests)
Meet Josh at the entrance of the Mercat del Ninot and then walk back (a 10-minute walk) for a guided market tour. This local market frequented by local Catalans is newly renovated, modern, and clean. Start your tour with a taste of Spanish jamon at his favorite Catalan charcuterie and learn about how and where the best jamon is made. Josh is friends with many of the local vendors who sell very high quality, locally-sourced meats, fishes, cheeses, and produce. Walk around the market with Josh and stop at many of his favorite vendors everything from salt cod to specially-macerated olives. Josh will point out what differentiates the best meat from the rest and will give you recommendations for cheeses, cured meats and other delicacies. By the end of the tour you'll understand the difference between Catalonian and Spanish cultures and learn a lot about specialty ingredients that are such an important part of the local diet and culture; in particular, the cured acorn-fed Iberian ham. Your market tour will last roughly 40 minutes, during which you might purchase local ingredients like squid or red peppers for your paella from Josh’s favorite vendors. Return together to Josh's cooking studio with your basket of ingredients to begin your cooking lesson and meal.
Please note that the market is closed on Sundays so market tours are unavailable on this day. Additionally, the 'evening' market tours are only available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Notes:
Andres, Josh's colleague and fellow chef will host alone on days when Josh is not available. The cooking studio is located one floor up from the ground floor. However, there is an alter-able accessible elevator for those who cannot take the stairs. Please also note, the market is shut on Sundays and Fridays and if you would like to book a market experience, make sure you DO NOT book it on a Sunday or Friday. Additionally, the 'evening' market tours are only available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. 1-2 glasses of Sangria are included in the price of every experience you book.
Languages spoken:
English, Catalan and Spanish
Sample menu
PERSONALLY VETTED REVIEW
A Traveling Spoon ambassador visited this host. Here is their personal review.
Cooking seafood Paella with Josh was one of the highlights of our 8-day stay in Barcelona. After hitting the typical tourist sites, it was refreshing to get the perspective of a local who is so passionate about food. He was very educational and patient, and we had a really fun time. It was great to pick up lots of tacit information not included in the recipe. Lastly, we enjoyed the food in the dining room with Josh and talked about his music and Catalonia. We loved hearing about Josh’s stories living in Barcelona, and greatly appreciated his tips and local perspective. We had an overall amazing experience and would highly recommend this!!
Sam and Shirbi, Traveling Spoon Ambassador
Traveler reviews
We had a great time walking around the market and getting to know the culture of Spanish food shopping. We cooked the paella from scratch and had a great time chatting, cooking and tasting :) We can totally recommend this also for kids, our 11 and 15 year old had a great time and participated in cutting and cooking.Thanks Eric for a wonderful morning and paella lunch!
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SusanneS717
December 29, 2019
Best meal of our trip! Our market tour & paella cooking class with Josh was one of the highlights of our time in Barcelona. Josh did a wonderful job teaching us how to make authentic paella & my son declared it the best meal of our trip (I would have to agree!). The tour of the market was informative as well. Oh, and the sangria was the best I’ve had!
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thespicyrd
July 09, 2019
Our market tour & paella cooking class with Josh was one of the highlights of our time in Barcelona. Josh did a wonderful job teaching us how to make authentic paella & my son declared it the best meal of our trip (I would have to agree!). The tour of the market was informative as well. Oh, and the sangria was the best I’ve had!
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thespicyrd
July 09, 2019
Josh is a really excellent teacher, his cooking studio is SO cool and beautiful, and it was so much fun to learn not only how to make the paella, but a proper sangria as well! I would highly recommend this activity to anyone interested in cooking and learning something new.
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Kristi O
May 23, 2019
Great time with Josh and cooked a noodle version of paella which was great fun. Nice to have a bilingual host who we could understand completely and intro us to a Barcelona market.
Thanks chef josh.
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kerrytaz
May 22, 2019
I could not recommend this more highly!
This is why I travel, to meet amazing people like Josh, explore new cities and beautiful places, and to experience the best food that a place has to offer. This was pure perfection! I love Traveling Spoon.
Our afternoon with Josh was perfect. We met him at one of the large markets in Barcelona, near his kitchen, for a market tour and sampling some fantastic Jamon. Josh is a teacher at heart, and doesn’t miss a chance to point out the construction of the market, the reason the government invested in and rebuilt the markets (I won’t spoil the story), and of course all the steps of making the paella. We visited specialty shops for: charcuteria (jamon), fruits and veggies, fish, eggs (yes, nothing but eggs there), poultry, and olives. We enjoyed samples at most places, and purchased the ingredients for the paella and sangria.
Note: I wrote ahead to Josh to ask him to teach me to make the fish stock, so if you want that, you should do the same.
Josh uses a small apartment with a professional kitchen and dining room for his classes. This was no demo class - we were in the kitchen with him the whole time, given assignments as fast as we could get them done, and with supervision and pointers at each step. “Here’s how you puree a tomato”, “Here’s what to look for as the paella cooks”, “here’s how the Castilian version is different from other versions”.
I have included several photos of the market trip, and ingredients, and the process for the paella. I left out his secret steps for your enjoyment with him…
The sangria was fantastic, and the paella tasted as good as it looked - that flavor was so deep and yummy! There was very little left over after dinner. Oh, and we had a nice dessert similar to creme brule.
We met Josh about 5pm, and were done with dinner around 8, which left us time for a flamenco show that night. It was one my favorite travel activities I have ever done. I will certainly be trying traveling spoon again in the near future, maybe a Japanese home-cooking one in Tokyo…
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TravelingDrek
August 16, 2018
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