Cook Paella & Spanish Rice Like a Pro
Start - End:
November 2 | December 21, 2026.
Duration:
2 months - 32 hours
1 Session per week
Schedule:
9:30 AM to 1:30 PM
Exclusivity:
Groups limited to 12 professionals
IN-PERSON COURSE.
Certification:
Official Certificate by Paella Barcelona Cooking School.
Language:
Training in Spanish or English.
Investment Price:
€1,000
Course Description:
This course is designed for chefs, cooks and food lovers who wish to perfect or expand their knowledge in rice dishes and paellas. Throughout 8 sessions with a 100% practical approach, you will work from the preparation of professional stocks and sofritos to the execution of dry rice dishes, creamy rice dishes, soupy rice dishes, risottos and traditional paellas.
Rice is one of the most demanded dishes in restaurants and, at the same time, one of those that generates the most errors in the kitchen. Achieving the perfect point, controlling service times, choosing the right rice and achieving consistent results requires technique, experience and professional knowledge.
The program combines Mediterranean tradition with professional techniques applied to the restaurant industry, allowing you to understand the why behind each process to gain confidence, improve the quality of your preparations and offer professional-level rice dishes and paellas in any kitchen.
Hello, I'm María Plavinskaya, CEO and Head Chef of the training program at Paella Barcelona Cooking School. I want to accompany you on a complete journey through the fascinating world of professional rice dishes and paellas.
I hold a professional qualification from the prestigious Hofmann School and have more than 8 years of experience as a chef and cooking teacher, training cooks and professionals who wish to perfect their technique and master the preparation of rice dishes at the highest level.
During this program I will share with you not only recipes, but also the methodology, professional technique and small details that make the difference between a good rice dish and an excellent one. My goal is for you to acquire the confidence, knowledge and practice necessary to take your preparations to a professional level.
Throughout the sessions we will work with an eminently practical methodology, based on real professional kitchen experience. You will learn the techniques, fundamentals and criteria necessary to reproduce each recipe with confidence, judgment and consistency.
Beyond simply following instructions, my intention is for you to develop the ability to interpret each preparation, solve problems during cooking and make decisions like a professional would. Because when you understand the why behind each technique, cooking stops being simply following a recipe and becomes a true tool for culinary creation.
Beyond following instructions, my intention is for you to develop the ability to interpret each preparation, solve problems during cooking, and make decisions like a professional would. Because when you understand the reasons behind each technique, cooking stops being simply about following a recipe and instead becomes a true tool for culinary creation.
This course is designed both for cooking enthusiasts who want to take their rice technique to the next level, and for Professional Cooks and Chefs who seek to specialize in one of the most universal and demanding dishes of Mediterranean gastronomy.
It is ideal for entrepreneurs with international expansion projects in the restaurant sector, focused on paella and rice dishes, who need to master not only traditional recipes, but also cooking techniques, timing, the exact point and the secrets of socarrat to incorporate quality paellas and rice dishes into their offerings.
If your goal is to cook rice dishes and paellas professionally, understand the "why" behind each step and differentiate yourself with an authentic and well-executed product, this course is for you.
Included materials:
• Professional chef uniform (jacket and apron)
• Educational dossier with recipes and technical fundamentals
• All premium ingredients (fresh seasonal products, top-quality seafood, selected rice varieties)
Student requirement:
• Set of professional knives (basic set required to follow the course)
Optional:
• Possibility to purchase a premium knife set with special discount for course students. Check availability.
Session Plan:
Rice and Paella Course
* Recipes may be modified according to product availability.
✔ Content: Introduction to different types of rice and their behavior during cooking. Learning basic cuts (mirepoix, emincé, ciseler, brunoise) and preparation of stocks (vegetable, fish fumet, white meat stock). Understanding how stocks and cuts influence the final flavor of the rice dish.
✔ Practice: performing basic cuts; preparing a vegetable stock; preparing a fish fumet.
✔ Content: Study of base sofritos: white sofrito and red sofrito. Blanching and English-style vegetable cooking techniques. Cutting seasonal vegetables. Basic chicken and rabbit butchering. Understanding how each cooking technique affects the texture, color and flavor of the ingredients.
✔ Preparations: vegan paella (green) and traditional Valencian paella.
✔ Practice: preparation of white and red sofrito; blanching techniques, English-style cooking; chicken and rabbit butchering; preparation of a vegan paella and a Valencian paella.
✔ Content: Study of seafood stocks as a flavor base. Cutting and cleaning techniques for seafood products: cuttlefish and squid cutting, mussel cleaning. Understanding how each seafood and fish contributes flavor and texture to the dish.
✔ Preparations: seafood paella and monkfish or cod rice dish.
✔ Practice: Seafood and fish cleaning and cutting techniques, fish fumet preparation; preparation of a seafood paella and a monkfish or cod rice dish.
✔ Content: Mountain rice (meat paella): local interpretation from Catalonia and the Pyrenees that combines different meats (chicken, pork ribs, butifarra) with seasonal produce (vegetables, mushrooms). Black rice: use of squid ink and seafood stock. Control of cooking point and socarrat.
✔ Preparations: mountain rice (meat paella) and black rice with ink.
✔ Practice: preparation of meat stock; preparation of mountain rice (meat paella); preparation of black rice with squid ink and seafood stock.
✔ Content: Risotto is a fundamental technique because it teaches the student to control the texture and creaminess of the rice through the relationship between starch, liquid, and temperature. Mastering risotto allows one to understand how to achieve different consistencies and apply this knowledge to other types of rice.
✔ Preparations: morel risotto, squab risotto with cherry sauce.
✔ Practice: preparation of a morel risotto; preparation of a squab risotto with cherry sauce.
✔ Content: Study of two fundamental sauces in Catalan cuisine: salmorreta (a base for fish rice dishes) and romesco (a side for vegetables and seafood). Work with ñora and choricero peppers. Techniques for cleaning and deveining shrimp; cleaning baby octopuses.
✔ Preparations: senyoret rice; baby octopus rice with romesco.
✔ Practice: preparation of salmorreta and romesco; cleaning and deveining shrimp; cleaning baby octopuses; preparation of a senyoret rice and a baby octopus rice with romesco.
✔ Content: Study of fideuá as a traditional dish that substitutes rice for noodles. Work with different types of broths: galera broth (for seafood fideuá) and mushroom broth (for mountain fideuá). Preparation of alioli by hand and with a mixer. Control of the cooking point of the noodles and the socarrat.
✔ Preparations: galera fideuá with alioli; rib and ceps (or chanterelles) fideuá with fried quail egg; hedgehog fideuá (optional).
✔ Practice: preparation of galera broth and mushroom broth; preparation of alioli by hand and with a mixer; preparation of a galera fideuá; preparation of a rib and ceps fideuá with fried quail egg.
✔ Content: Study of two high-end rice dishes that combine premium ingredients with sophisticated plating techniques. Control of the cooking point to present rice as a main dish.
✔ Preparations: lobster broth rice; blood sausage rice in paella.
✔ Practice: preparation of lobster broth rice; preparation of blood sausage rice in paella; application of professional plating techniques.
In our continuous analysis in the kitchens of Paella Barcelona Cooking School, we found that 85% of errors in restaurants come from inconsistent hydration. After testing dozens of rice dishes under pressure, we have designed an invariable cooking protocol. You will practice in a real fire environment, with ultra-small groups (maximum 12 students), ensuring that you assimilate each phase of cooking under the direct supervision of master rice chefs.
Throughout our 8 sessions in the heart of Barcelona (C/ Notariat 8), you will learn:
Starch Behavior: Reaction of varieties (Bomba, Senia, Albufera) to concentrated stocks.
Service Standardization: Pre-marking and regeneration techniques to maintain excellence in high-volume services.
Socarrat Chemistry: Control of the Maillard reaction without burning the bottom.
Profitability (Food Cost): Precise costing to maximize profit margin in each paella pan.
It is exclusively designed for chefs, active cooks, and future hospitality professionals seeking specialization in paella for restaurants. It is not a basic home cooking course; it is high-performance technical training.
The course consists of 8 predominantly practical sessions (90% action in the kitchen). You will work directly in the facilities of the Paella Barcelona Cooking School (Notariat 8), performing cuts, stocks, broths, and complete cooking processes with professional equipment.
Yes. Upon completing the 2 months of specialization, you will receive the Diploma and Official Certificate from the Paella Barcelona Cooking School, certifying your mastery of rice techniques for restaurants and hospitality.
No, our vocation is international. This technical training on rice is offered in Spanish or English, adapting to the profiles of chefs operating in the global kitchens of Barcelona.
The cost covers access to high-end raw materials (D.O. rice, fresh fish for broths, etc.), industrial machinery, and almost personalized attention, as we limit groups to a strict maximum of 12 students per edition.
In facilities with 100% industrial equipment in Barcelona. No domestic kitchens. You will practice with the same high-powered burners that you'll find in real life.
📍 Carrer del Notariat, 8, Ciutat Vella, 08001 Barcelona
🚇 Nearby metro, buses, and parking
→ 2 minutes from MACBA → 2 minutes from La Boquería → 2 minutes from the Gothic Quarter
From traditional Valencian paella and dry seafood rices to creamy rices, soupy rices, and high cooking techniques.
The spots are strictly limited to ensure personalized attention in the kitchens. Check our upcoming course and secure your spot by reserving your enrollment.
Yes. A chef not only cooks; they manage budgets. We dedicate an entire module to calculating waste, optimizing the use of dark funds, and establishing a precise food cost.