Catalonia,
where food is culture
where food is culture
Catalonia is a millenary land where Greeks and Romans left their mark, lies on the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula and borders with France. Catalonia is a land with its own culture and language that enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate and an unrivalled natural diversity. It is a country built on a wealth of contrasts that make the food absolutely unique. It’s geopraphy, history and culture has moulded a lifestyle where food is more than eating, is the mirror of our people.
Catalonia is the country of the architect Gaudí, the painter Dalí, the musicians Casals or Gerhard or the sportsman Pau Gasol or the singer Rosalia.
Catalonia,
where food is culture
where food is culture
Catalonia is a millenary land where Greeks and Romans left their mark, lies on the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula and borders with France. Catalonia is a land with its own culture and language that enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate and an unrivalled natural diversity. It is a country built on a wealth of contrasts that make the food absolutely unique. It’s geopraphy, history and culture has moulded a lifestyle where food is more than eating, is the mirror of our people.
Catalonia is the country of the architect Gaudí, the painter Dalí, the musicians Casals or Gerhard or the sportsman Pau Gasol or the singer Rosalia.
Vins de Finca Tasting
LUCAS PAYÀ
Lucas is an independent consultant and ambassador working in collaboration with several world-class firms dedicated to wine, beverage and culinary culture. Early in his professional career, Lucas worked for legendary chef Alain Ducasse in London and held the lead sommelier position within 6 months of being hired.
A year later, Lucas joined elBulli restaurant in 2002 to become the head of their sommelier team, working for 5 years under the direction and leadership of acclaimed chef Ferran Adrià and partner Juli Soler, who dramatically shaped his understanding of the artistry in gastronomy, wine and service. His experience at elBulli was the perfect segway into his time as wine & beverage director for José Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup (TFG), where he oversaw the wine and beverage programs for all TFG restaurants in the US and internationally.
Over the two years following the end of his work with TFG, Lucas spearheaded the launch of Coravin in Spain. In 2016, Lucas was appointed House of Lustau U.S. National Brand Educator to create the Certified Sherry Wine Specialist program (CSWS®) in conjunction with the Regulatory Council of Jerez. Lucas holds a Diploma from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and is a Spanish Wine Scholar. He is also a member of the prestigious L’Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne and a Certified Sherry Educator.
Vins de Finca Tasting
LUCAS PAYÀ
Lucas is an independent consultant and ambassador working in collaboration with several world-class firms dedicated to wine, beverage and culinary culture. Early in his professional career, Lucas worked for legendary chef Alain Ducasse in London and held the lead sommelier position within 6 months of being hired.
A year later, Lucas joined elBulli restaurant in 2002 to become the head of their sommelier team, working for 5 years under the direction and leadership of acclaimed chef Ferran Adrià and partner Juli Soler, who dramatically shaped his understanding of the artistry in gastronomy, wine and service. His experience at elBulli was the perfect segway into his time as wine & beverage director for José Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup (TFG), where he oversaw the wine and beverage programs for all TFG restaurants in the US and internationally.
Over the two years following the end of his work with TFG, Lucas spearheaded the launch of Coravin in Spain. In 2016, Lucas was appointed House of Lustau U.S. National Brand Educator to create the Certified Sherry Wine Specialist program (CSWS®) in conjunction with the Regulatory Council of Jerez. Lucas holds a Diploma from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and is a Spanish Wine Scholar. He is also a member of the prestigious L’Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne and a Certified Sherry Educator.
Vins de Finca Tasting
MARIA FONTANALS
Maria began her career working in corporate finance after graduating with a degree in Economics from the well-known Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. However, her interest in theater never wavered. While working, she nurtured her vocation as an actress, obtaining a degree in Fine Arts from the Conservatorio Superior de Arte Dramático Eolia de Barcelona and acting in various theatrical productions in Barcelona. Ultimately, her inner voice relentlessly urged her to leave the security of her corporate position and pursue her passion to act for real. He went to the prestigious HB Studio in New York, to follow the Core Training program in interpretation (granted by a scholarship).
Maria has extensive experience on stage in the United States and Europe. She has performed leading roles with recognized theaters such as the Spanish Repertory (La casa de Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca), Julia de Burgos Performance Arte Center (Tierra del Fuego by Mario Diament), Dixon Place (Casablanca where the Hudson by Pamela Enz), Theater for the New City (City Girls of Desperadoes by Pamela Enz co-starring with Austin Pendelton and Julie Atlas Muz), Teatro Círculo (Seis by Federico Roca winner of five FuerzaFest awards, including best play and best actress and three HOLA 2017 awards, including outstanding performance by an actress), the Russian Arts Theatre, the IATI, the HB Playwrights Foundation, the SEA Theatre, to name a few. In Film and TV, Maria starred in the criminal series Six Degrees of Murder (ID Discovery Channel) and has recently shot the film The Middle of Somewhere, winner of the 2018 Royal Film Award and the short film Latiner, Selected Official by the Latin Short Film Festival. In voiceover, María has been the voice of the Super Wings: Barcelona Birdhouse.
Over the past year, she has been awarded the 2019 Latin ACE National Award for Best Dramatic Actress – 2018 and 2017 HOLA Award for Best Performance by a Female Actress – 2018 ATI Award for Best Actress – 2017 FUERZAFest Award for Best Actress – Latin ACE Award 2017 for the best comic actress.
Vins de Finca Tasting
MARIA FONTANALS
Maria began her career working in corporate finance after graduating with a degree in Economics from the well-known Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. However, her interest in theater never wavered. While working, she nurtured her vocation as an actress, obtaining a degree in Fine Arts from the Conservatorio Superior de Arte Dramático Eolia de Barcelona and acting in various theatrical productions in Barcelona. Ultimately, her inner voice relentlessly urged her to leave the security of her corporate position and pursue her passion to act for real. He went to the prestigious HB Studio in New York, to follow the Core Training program in interpretation (granted by a scholarship).
Maria has extensive experience on stage in the United States and Europe. She has performed leading roles with recognized theaters such as the Spanish Repertory (La casa de Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca), Julia de Burgos Performance Arte Center (Tierra del Fuego by Mario Diament), Dixon Place (Casablanca where the Hudson by Pamela Enz), Theater for the New City (City Girls of Desperadoes by Pamela Enz co-starring with Austin Pendelton and Julie Atlas Muz), Teatro Círculo (Seis by Federico Roca winner of five FuerzaFest awards, including best play and best actress and three HOLA 2017 awards, including outstanding performance by an actress), the Russian Arts Theatre, the IATI, the HB Playwrights Foundation, the SEA Theatre, to name a few. In Film and TV, Maria starred in the criminal series Six Degrees of Murder (ID Discovery Channel) and has recently shot the film The Middle of Somewhere, winner of the 2018 Royal Film Award and the short film Latiner, Selected Official by the Latin Short Film Festival. In voiceover, María has been the voice of the Super Wings: Barcelona Birdhouse.
Over the past year, she has been awarded the 2019 Latin ACE National Award for Best Dramatic Actress – 2018 and 2017 HOLA Award for Best Performance by a Female Actress – 2018 ATI Award for Best Actress – 2017 FUERZAFest Award for Best Actress – Latin ACE Award 2017 for the best comic actress.
Vins de Finca Tasting
ALBA SUNYER
Perhaps if his mother had not been a great lover of the kitchen; perhaps if her husband’s parents hadn’t run a restaurant in the middle of Barcelona for many years; perhaps if that ceiling hadn’t fallen on her that forced her to leave the job as a physiotherapist that she did so much; perhaps if in 2008 she had not marched with her whole family in the United States… If all these circumstances had not occurred, perhaps, and only perhaps, the book Meals by Alba Sunyer Ollé would not exist.
Upon arriving in the United States, she opened a company based on generating team building experiences around Catalan cuisine. She presented the idea at the Greenville Chamber of Commerce and thus The Mediterranean Corner (TMC) was born.
The aim of her book, it is to explain to Americans not only what we eat and what products grow on our land, but also to show them who we are and where we come from, what our traditions and customs are… And even more importantly, to discover the character of our traditional cuisine; the one that didn’t throw anything away and took advantage of everything; the one that, with just a bite, managed to transform the leftovers from the day before into an excellent Sunday dish.
Vins de Finca Tasting
ALBA SUNYER
Perhaps if his mother had not been a great lover of the kitchen; perhaps if her husband’s parents hadn’t run a restaurant in the middle of Barcelona for many years; perhaps if that ceiling hadn’t fallen on her that forced her to leave the job as a physiotherapist that she did so much; perhaps if in 2008 she had not marched with her whole family in the United States… If all these circumstances had not occurred, perhaps, and only perhaps, the book Meals by Alba Sunyer Ollé would not exist.
Upon arriving in the United States, she opened a company based on generating team building experiences around Catalan cuisine. She presented the idea at the Greenville Chamber of Commerce and thus The Mediterranean Corner (TMC) was born.
The aim of her book, it is to explain to Americans not only what we eat and what products grow on our land, but also to show them who we are and where we come from, what our traditions and customs are… And even more importantly, to discover the character of our traditional cuisine; the one that didn’t throw anything away and took advantage of everything; the one that, with just a bite, managed to transform the leftovers from the day before into an excellent Sunday dish.
Gastronomic expert
COLMAN ANDREWS
Colman Andrews (Santa Monica, California, February 18, 1945) is a writer and editor born in the United States specialized in gastronomy, who is considered one of the best experts in the world in the cuisine of Spain and in particular of Catalonia.[1 ] In 1994 he founded, with Dorothy Kalins, Michael Grossman and Christopher Hirsheimer, the gastronomic magazine Saveur, of which he was the editor of none from 2001 to 2006,when he began writing as a gastronomic columnist for Gourmet.
Throughout the eighties he spent a lot of time traveling to and around Barcelona. The resulting book, Cocina Catalana, published in 1988 and still in print, has become the standard reference book for restaurant kitchens in this region, and is revered by top local chefs, including the world-renowned Ferran Adria.
After finishing his book in Catalan, Andrews freelanced, writing articles for the Los Angeles Times and Buen Appetit, Food & Wine, Travel & Leisure, and many other publications. In 1992, Andrews published his second book, Everything Where the Table: Plain Talk About Food and Wine, a collection of new and revised short pieces.
Gastronomic expert
COLMAN ANDREWS
Colman Andrews (Santa Monica, California, February 18, 1945) is a writer and editor born in the United States specialized in gastronomy, who is considered one of the best experts in the world in the cuisine of Spain and in particular of Catalonia.[1 ] In 1994 he founded, with Dorothy Kalins, Michael Grossman and Christopher Hirsheimer, the gastronomic magazine Saveur, of which he was the editor of none from 2001 to 2006,when he began writing as a gastronomic columnist for Gourmet.
Throughout the eighties he spent a lot of time traveling to and around Barcelona. The resulting book, Cocina Catalana, published in 1988 and still in print, has become the standard reference book for restaurant kitchens in this region, and is revered by top local chefs, including the world-renowned Ferran Adria.
After finishing his book in Catalan, Andrews freelanced, writing articles for the Los Angeles Times and Buen Appetit, Food & Wine, Travel & Leisure, and many other publications. In 1992, Andrews published his second book, Everything Where the Table: Plain Talk About Food and Wine, a collection of new and revised short pieces.
filmmaker and video artist
LAIA CABRERA
Laia Cabrera is a visionary filmmaker and video artist from Catalonia, Lleida and based in New York and critically recognized director and multimedia creator, working in the fields of projection mapping design, video art, documentary and immersive art installations, with many projects straddling or blending elements of both fields. Ms. Cabrera is recognized for innovative interdisciplinary work which merges cinematic and digital arts, dance, music, theater and visual arts with pieces performed at leading venues, inaugurating arts festivals and installed in museums.
Her work includes traditional and experimental filmmaking, multimedia shows and interactive video-mapped site-specific installations.
Her work in film, video, and visual production has been presented in Europe, the USA and Latin America and commissioned by the New Radio and Performing Arts, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Spain Culture New York – Consulate General of Spain, Spain Arts and Culture, the Austrian Cultural Forum, the King Juan Carlos Center at NYU, the New York State Council on the Arts, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Arts International, among some other major institutions.
Laia Cabrera work has been awarded and featured internationally in landmarks like the Tempietto di Bramante in Rome, the historic Georgetown Canal in Washington, D.C., St. John the Divine Cathedral, Times Square, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), TimeCenter at the New York Times and the White Box Art Gallery in New York.
filmmaker and video artist
LAIA CABRERA
Laia Cabrera is a visionary filmmaker and video artist from Catalonia, Lleida and based in New York and critically recognized director and multimedia creator, working in the fields of projection mapping design, video art, documentary and immersive art installations, with many projects straddling or blending elements of both fields. Ms. Cabrera is recognized for innovative interdisciplinary work which merges cinematic and digital arts, dance, music, theater and visual arts with pieces performed at leading venues, inaugurating arts festivals and installed in museums.
Her work includes traditional and experimental filmmaking, multimedia shows and interactive video-mapped site-specific installations.
Her work in film, video, and visual production has been presented in Europe, the USA and Latin America and commissioned by the New Radio and Performing Arts, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Spain Culture New York – Consulate General of Spain, Spain Arts and Culture, the Austrian Cultural Forum, the King Juan Carlos Center at NYU, the New York State Council on the Arts, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Arts International, among some other major institutions.
Laia Cabrera work has been awarded and featured internationally in landmarks like the Tempietto di Bramante in Rome, the historic Georgetown Canal in Washington, D.C., St. John the Divine Cathedral, Times Square, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), TimeCenter at the New York Times and the White Box Art Gallery in New York.
Concept chef
NICOLÁS LOPEZ
Nicolás López Pelaz, Concept Chef at Mercado Little Spain, chosen in the top 10 new restaurants in New York in 2019.
He has a professional career of more than 10 years, in which he has worked in Spain, the United Kingdom, Colombia and the United States. , in emblematic restaurants recognized with 1, 2 and 3 Michelin stars (The Fat Duck***, Zalacaín*, La Terraza del Casino**).
His passion for innovation has taken him from Paco Roncero’s kitchen to the R&D department of Think Food Group, the company behind chef José Andrés’ restaurant group.
Concept chef
NICOLÁS LOPEZ
Nicolás López Pelaz, Concept Chef at Mercado Little Spain, chosen in the top 10 new restaurants in New York in 2019.
He has a professional career of more than 10 years, in which he has worked in Spain, the United Kingdom, Colombia and the United States. , in emblematic restaurants recognized with 1, 2 and 3 Michelin stars (The Fat Duck***, Zalacaín*, La Terraza del Casino**).
His passion for innovation has taken him from Paco Roncero’s kitchen to the R&D department of Think Food Group, the company behind chef José Andrés’ restaurant group.