Paella Pow-Wow

The winning paella: best tasting
Yes, those are giant prawns. And yes, it was delicious. 

This past Saturday Taylor and I left the city and ventured to the suburbs. The church we visited the Sunday before, Mountainview International Church, was hosting a paella cook-off to raise donations for a local charity (it raised a total of €2,713). The event was hosted in the backyard of one of the church's members suburban home; by the time Taylor and I arrived the backyard was completely filled with chefs and paella. The fundraiser was more than just a cook-off, though, it was complete with games and face-painting to entertain the children (and, perhaps, a few adults..).  

Paella pans and and chefs flooding the backyard.

There were approximately 15-20 paella chefs competing in the cook-off for three categories: best tasting, most original, and best presentation. After the judges tasted each of them, it was our turn to dig in. Taylor and I started feasting with a mission: to try as many paellas as we possibly could. We went from pan to pan, getting sufficient portions of each and every paella. Each dish was completely different from the others and boasted its own flavor. Paellas ranged from traditional valencian paellas, to arroz negro (a rice dish filled with calamari and squid and given its black color by mixing in copious amounts of squid ink), to vegetarian paellas, to mushroom paellas that resembled risotto, to Dominican rice, to Indian-influenced paellas..the list goes on. Unfortunately, my stomach did not. However, we were on a mission and needed to prove ourselves successful, which we did except for, I believe, two which were gone before we reached them.

By the last few pans our stomachs were starting to really feel the consequences of our actions. Still, these slight pains were nothing compared to the incredible paellas we tasted (and gorged on). I tried the best arroz negro I had ever had: it was full of squid and was so creamy--the perfect combination of flavor and texture. After finishing our plates, we were so full that we had to take a few minutes to sit down and breath. Yet, we somehow found room to get some homemade desserts.

The pastor, Taylor, and me cooking paella!

Paella in the making

The day was more than a glutinous feast though, it was also a time of meeting new people and enjoying time together in a quiet, suburban neighborhood. Everyone at the church has been so welcoming to us and genuinely interested in engaging in conversation. The pastor even offered to has us both over to teach us how to cook paella--an offer upon which we will most definitely accept!! Taylor and I both agreed that after the cook-off, the church and its community really felt like the right place for us and like a home while we are away. Maybe the paella and games were bribery, but either way, we are both very satisfied on many levels.