Valencia Paella Cooking Classes: Make the Real Thing
Valencia paella cooking classes: learn real paella valenciana with chicken, rabbit and saffron, shop the Mercado Central, master the socarrat, and how to book.
The short version: Valencia is the home of paella, and a cooking class here teaches you the real paella valenciana: chicken, rabbit, flat green beans and garrofo butter beans with saffron and rice, cooked in a wide pan until a crisp socarrat forms on the bottom. The best classes start at the Mercado Central to shop for ingredients, then you cook and eat your paella with a glass of wine or agua de Valencia. Here is what you will make and how to book.
At a glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What | Hands-on paella class, often with a Mercado Central market visit |
| You make | Paella valenciana (or seafood paella), plus a starter and sangria |
| The secret | Socarrat: the caramelized crispy rice at the bottom of the pan |
| Time | About 3 hours (longer with the market or the Albufera) |
| Where rice grows | The Albufera lagoon just south of the city |
What real paella is
Outside Spain, paella means a seafood medley. In Valencia, the original paella valenciana is a country dish: chicken and rabbit, flat green beans (bajoqueta), white garrofo butter beans, tomato, olive oil, saffron and short-grain rice, traditionally cooked over a wood fire. You never stir it once the rice is in, and the prize is the socarrat, the toasted crust at the bottom. Seafood paella and black arroz negro are local classics too.
How a Valencia paella class works
Morning classes usually begin with a walk through the Mercado Central, one of Europe’s great food markets, to buy the ingredients with your chef. Back in the kitchen you build the sofrito, add the rice and stock, and learn when to leave it alone. Some classes run in the countryside near the Albufera rice fields. Everyone then sits down to eat the paella they made.
Our pick: the Valencia Paella Cooking Class with Central Market Tour (5 stars, 1,100+ reviews) shops at the Mercado Central with a chef, then cooks paella together.
Compare more destinations: the best cooking classes in Europe.
Frequently asked questions
What is in a traditional paella valenciana?
Chicken, rabbit, flat green beans, garrofo butter beans, tomato, olive oil, saffron and short-grain rice. No chorizo, and traditionally no seafood.
How much is a paella cooking class in Valencia?
Group classes generally run around EUR 60 to 80 per person; longer market or countryside experiences cost more.
What is socarrat?
The crispy, caramelized layer of rice that forms on the bottom of the pan at the end of cooking. Valencians consider it the best part.
Book a Valencia paella class
Compare Valencia paella cooking classes, see more Valencia food experiences, or try paella and tapas on a Madrid cooking class.
