The attractive Catalan language drifts through Barcelona, an ancient port city built atop Roman ruins with bits and pieces of 4th century architecture proudly standing tall amidst the mad crush of 21st century tourism. With its countless tree-lined streets and glorious architecture, Barcelona appears to have been blessed by a goddess from the World of Art who draped her large silk scarf over the city to ensure an artistic bent.

I first met Toño Pérez (of Atrio Restaurante in Cáceres, Spain) in Manhattan. I took a master class he taught last October at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). He handed out photos and descriptions of his signature tapas dishes and then created them for us. It was amazing!