My recent discovery, the catering company: Hola Paella, owned by Fernando Craff. Fernando retired from thirty six years as an airline mechanic engineer and sought a second career. Cooking has always been a family passion, his father was a chef in Peru, where Fernando was born. His grandfather was from Spain, and his paternal grandfather was French. Like Paella, Fernando is a man of mixed nationalities.

Any capable cook understands the complexities of making paella and the time dedicated to create this scrumptious Valencian dish. Traditional methods dictate that the paella be cooked by men over an open flame fueled by orange and pine branches along with pine cones. Fernando does cook over an open flame, however it is a gas flame – one of the beauties of his catering business is his use of an enormous portable cooking stove. Imagine this rustic centuries old Spanish dish prepared in your garden!

A stickler for authentic ingredients, Fernando and his team have access to imported chorizo and the finest spices and paella rice. This is a portable operation, complete with staff, they travel as far south as Carmel, and generally have a 200 mile radius from Cupertino. He will travel north of Sacramento and up the coast to Sea Ranch. Parties of up to 300 people are easily managed or private gatherings for smaller groups; winter suppers or imagine a large summer garden event.

I was pleasantly surprised by the perfection of the rice; the essence of saffron and other organic spices are each distinctly identifiable, the fish and meat were tender and succulent. Staff is very knowledgeable and dressed in striking red chef aprons and hats. Oh – look at the menu: paella serving includes salad and bread- this is a phenomenal party showstopper.  New Year’s Eve Dinner is around the corner!

Delicioso!