Author: Bob Cartwright
Spanish cooking is all the rage at present. Some of the world's finest restaurants are in Spain, including Catalonia, most famously El Bulli. Ferran Adria, the Catalan chef who runs the restaurant, has just received the accolade of the world's finest restaurant for the third year running.
There are schools teaching Spanish cookery. Not only do you have a great holiday, you return home with a valuable skill. At the very least, you'll have had some fun and meet lots of interesting people at the cookery school.
One of the schools based in Barcelona is GoLearnTo (www.golearnto,com). They offer half-day Spanish cooking courses at £48 per person - they are in English but the chef is Spanish - if you are travelling independently. Alternatively, a £57 lesson involves a visit to the famous Boqueria market off the Ramblas before returning to the kitchens so you learn what to buy as well as cooking the ingredients.