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PAELLA

Chorizo in paella? Go back to cooking school Jamie Oliver

You might think Spain would be flattered that one of Britain's most famous chefs chose to create his own version of a beloved national dish. You'd be wrong.

Published: 5 October 2016 10:21 CEST
Chorizo in paella? Go back to cooking school Jamie Oliver
The TV chef added chorizo to paella Photo: Jamieoliver.com

When Jamie Oliver posted a photograph of a delicious looking pot of rice, his own mouthwatering recipe for the popular Valencian dish of paella, he could hardly have expected to spark provoke outrage.  

“Good Spanish food doesn't get much better than paella. My version combines chicken thighs & chorizo,”  he tweeted in an seemingly harmless post on Tuesday with a photo of his “recipe of the day”.

But the Naked Chef had unwittingly committed one of the most heinous crimes in Spanish cooking: he added the spicy sausage chorizo to a dish where it really wasn't welcome.

READ MORE: Jamie Oliver's recipe for Chicken and Chorizo paella

It wasn’t long before the nation of Spain rose up to defend one of its most iconic and traditional dishes slamming Oliver for his “abomination” and urging him to go back to cooking school.

Someone even compared the Naked Chef's version to the laughable attempt to improve a priceless fresco by an octogenarian parishoner in northeastern Spain.

The London Paella School even reached out to offer the famous TV chef a free lesson.

Someone has even started a change.org petition calling for support to stop British chefs – including Gordon Ramsey and Nigella Lawson alongside Jamie Oliver – adding chorzo to paella.

 

But it wasn’t all criticism. Famous Spanish chef José Andrés who has built up a  culinary empire in the USA jumped in to his defence.

 
Spaniards are so protective of their de-facto national dish that there are even self-proclaimed “paella police” in the form of Wikipaella.

READ MORE Paella: Six reason you have probably been doing it wrong

The online group monitors restaurants, naming and shaming those who don’t come up to scratch and offering awards to those establishments that meet approval and respect the tradition by serving an authentic paella.

According to the website, the ingredients of a good paella can depend on the region and there are always seasonal variations such as the addition of artichokes. It states however that carrots, mushrooms and above all chorizo have no place there.

When it comes to paella, tradition wins out over experimentation.

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PAELLA

Rob Schneider feels wrath of Spain for pitiful paella

Yet another international celebrity has felt the full force of Spain’s culinary criticism after Hollywood actor Rob Schneider made the rookie mistake of attempting to put his own spin on Valencian classic paella then posting the picture on Twitter.

Published: 27 December 2016 09:29 CET
Rob Schneider feels wrath of Spain for pitiful paella
Schneider (right) and his controversy-causing paella. Photo: Rob Schneider/Valery Hache & AFP

The Deuce Bigalow star innocently uploaded an image of his Frankenstein’s monster-like paella attempt to Twitter on Christmas day, and the wrath of Spain was swift in its arrival.

“Dude, that paella is a 2.5/10 quality. Come to Spain to taste the REAL ONE,” Spanish Youtuber Liberty-Mario replied, before later deciding to downgrade his rating to an even harsher “0.033/10”.

“This is not paella: this is rice with things,” commented another Twitter user. “If this is paella, my balls are carnations,” jabbed Valencian journalist Manolo Montalt.

“What?! You forgot the chorizo!!” joked one reply, making reference to a similar incident in October when TV chef Jamie Oliver posted a photograph of his own take on the dish which included the Valencian no-no of chorizo.

Labelled an “abomination” in Spain, the fuss was so big it even became known as “paellagate”.

READ ALSO: Six reasons why you have probably been doing paella wrong

When actor Schneider finally opted to respond to the critiques of his own dish, he only dug a bigger hole. In what was either a cheeky attempt to stir things further or an embarrassing display of a lack of awareness of Spanish culture, he insisted to the “people of Sevilla” that he didn’t mean to use lobsters in his dish

“Paella is from Valencia…. Breath in breath out! Mayhem has broken… you maybe handcuffed if you travel to Valencia!”, Spanish chef José Andrés, who had previously defended Oliver’s chorizo-filled version, pointed out in response.

It wasn’t all bad news for Schneider though. As a result of his monstrosity, chef Andrés offered to give him an exclusive class on making a real paella over FaceTime.

And the American finally decided to try and calm things down on Monday night, tweeting in Spanish:

“Out of respect for Spain and José Andrés I’m going to make a second attempt. Let me know if I’m missing anything in the recipe.”

That seemed to be enough for most Spaniards to put their knives away. The moral of the story? If you’re going to make paella, it’s probably best not to share it with Spain on social media. Just in case.