International Paella Day falls on September 20th and to celebrate the most quintessential dish of Spanish gastronomy, the Spanish Tourism Office in the UAE, BOCA and four of the UAE’s most iconic Spanish restaurants have put together a weeklong celebration across the country.
H.E. Antonio Álvarez Barthe, Spain’s Ambassador to the UAE and Mr. Daniel Rosado, Director of the Spanish Tourism Office in the UAE will inaugurate the celebrations on September 20th in BOCA in DIFC. The launch event will feature a live cooking demonstration by Chef Matthijs Stinnissen, Head Chef of BOCA to an audience from the media, food writers and influencers in the country.
During this event guests will get a taste of the new paellas launched at BOCA for Paella Week. The list includes the classic SEAFOOD PAELLA with mixed local seafood and shellfish, ARROZ NEGRO ‘BLACK SEAFOOD RICE’ with octopus and local calamari, BOCA’s VEGAN PAELLA with mixed local vegetables, local herbs, and black garlic aioli, PAELLA ROJA with mixed seasonal root vegetables, home-made local beetroot stock, PAELLA VANELCIANA with free-range rabbit and free-range chicken, ARROZ CON CARNE ‘LAMB MACHBOOS’ with braised lamb shoulder and labneh aioli and a FIDEUA VALENCIANA made with artisan pasta.
From September 20th to the 26th, BOCA will offer one of the seven paellas mentioned above with a jug of non-alcoholic sangria or four cold hops, or a bottle of house grape for AED 310. Other participating restaurants include Bebemos, Casa de Tapas, Diablito, and Seville’s and each will offer their own promotions and post them to their social media accounts.
The Spanish specialty store La Despensa – official provider of paella pans for Paella Week in the UAE – along with the Spanish Tourism Office in the UAE are also offering gift hampers to two lucky guests who upload their photo of any paella with #PaellaWeekUAE.
Come and celebrate, beyond recipes and ingredients, the internationality of the dish and what the Valencians have shared with the world, the glorious paella.
