Paella is one of our favourite dishes, so much so that during this dreary summer, we’ve had more people than ever checking out our sunny Spanish Keith Floyd recipe. As scrumptious as this recipe is, we jumped at the chance to go and try out Iberica’s paella at their restaurant in Leeds.

Having been won over by Iberica, we couldn’t wait to try out their new and improved paella recipe. The fact that the CEO of Iberica, Marco, and the top chefs were going to be in town cooking it for us made us even more excited!

To start with, the event was highly informative. From learning that the burnt bottom of the paella is called the ‘socarrat’, to learning that paella should usually be either seafood or land based and not mixed (we’re not 100% sure we agree on that one, but apparently it all comes down to using the right stock and not mixing meat with fish stock or fish with meat stock!).

As well as this, ever since we’ve eaten paella, we’ve always fought over the chance to eat the ‘socarrat’ at the bottom of the pan. However, we were informed that the best way to eat paella is to scrape the ‘socarrat’ off and mix it into the dish before serving to add a depth of flavour.

The educational side of things was interesting, but the true test was in the tasting. Without a shadow of a doubt, the paella hugely delivered in taste. The seafood paella and chicken paella both packed a massive flavour punch and were very, very moreish.

If you’re heading down to Iberica this summer, make sure you try out their paella. Also, the word on the street is that we should soon start to see some local Leeds beers making their way onto the menu. Watch this space!