Inspiration And Innovation: How Cooking Classes Have Reshaped La Mar Salada

Just one year after opening the doors to La Mar Salada, Kat and Victor Perez have gained a loyal following of home cooks eager to add popular Spanish dishes to their repertoire.

The husband-wife duo opened their Castle Street market with the intent of bringing specialty items from Victor Perez’s homeland of Spain to Wilmington, and the interest in cooking classes was something that took them by surprise.

The previous tenant at 908 Castle St. was the one who initially presented the idea of cooking classes. She had been to a paella class in Spain and raved about the experience. So, Kat and Victor decided to give it a try.

“I tell this story all the time,” Kat Perez said. “The group that we had for our first class, their energy was just next level. We could tell right away how excited people were for this, and we knew we had to keep going with it.”

The classes began with a focus on paella, a classic Spanish dish of rice, saffron, vegetables and chicken or seafood cooked in a carbon steel pan known as a paellera. Paella originated in Valencia, Spain, where the traditional ingredients of Paella Valenciana are chicken, rabbit and garrofo (a type of butter bean), cooked with rice, saffron and chicken broth.

To better accommodate the classes, a U-shaped bar was built to allow participants to have a clear view of Kat and Victor in the center, cooking from gas-powered stands upon which the paelleras are set.

At a recent Friday evening paella class, the couple greeted guests with Spanish wines and charcuterie as they made introductions and settled in at the bar. Two types of paella would be prepared – one with chicken and chorizo – a favorite of the Perezes, and one with fresh seafood from Seaview Crab Co.

Kat Perez extended a warm welcome to the class and shared a bit about herself and Victor. She was born in Mexico and came to North Carolina when she was 3; Victor Perez was born and raised in a small town in the north of Spain and came to Winston-Salem about 11 years ago. The couple are parents to four children, and they have a playful banter as they share stories about their day-to-day with the kids and anecdotes about Spanish culture and cuisine.

Soon, the Perezes passed out vegetables such as peppers, tomatoes, onions, leeks and garlic and instructed the class on how to prep them. Everyone was equipped with a red La Mar Salada apron, a small cutting board and a knife.

Kat and Victor Perez prepped the proteins and began by sauteing those while the vegetables were cut. Before long, a pleasant aroma filled the air, and the participants shared stories of their travels abroad, of the foods and experiences they have come to treasure.

One hard-and-fast rule when it comes to paella is that once the rice is added, the mixture is not to be stirred. Unlike its Italian counterpart risotto, which requires constant stirring, paella is left to simmer over low heat until the broth is absorbed and a flavorful crispy crust – the socarrat – has formed, giving the dish its unique texture.

As the paella simmered, Victor Perez passed a porrón, a glass decanter filled with a dry Spanish cider, from which the participants took turns holding the vessel above their heads and pouring the drink directly into their mouths, as is the traditional way to share among a group. Some among them have drunk cider this way before when in Spain, others made jokes about funneling beers in college or how the porrón resembled a bong.

The cider, which is produced in the Basque region and is hugely popular throughout the area, is more like a wine than a carbonated hard cider common in the U.S.

Once the meal was served, and the participants gathered all the products they needed to successfully make paella at home, including perhaps some Spanish cider, the conversation turned to the Perezes’ upcoming trip to Spain. While much of the trip will be spent seeing sights and relaxing with relatives, they also intend to meet with some of their suppliers and research new product lines.

“We also want to use this trip as a way to look for new recipes that we might be able to incorporate into our classes,” Kat Perez said. “We have a lot of people who say, ‘Ok I’ve done the paella class, what else can you teach me?’”

The class schedule has expanded to include a Tapas and Bottomless Mimosas Brunch where participants make tortilla de patatas, a classic Spanish tapa made with potatoes, onions and eggs cooked in olive oil. They also sample jamón, a dry-cured cured Spanish ham, and other common tapas.

In addition to classes held at the market, Kat and Victor Perez have started hosting private in-home parties upon request, and this is an area of the business they’re eager to grow.

“People have really come to enjoy having people gather in their homes,” Kat Perez said. “And this is a way for them not to have to do all the work of hosting a dinner party, and it can be interactive for their guests.”

When they return from Spain later this summer, the couple plans to get their full catering license so they can also partner with local businesses such as Epic Excursions to host private classes and parties in places such as Masonboro Island.

“We recently tried it out where we went to the island and made paella over an open fire,” Kat Perez said. “That was a pretty incredible experience.”

And after all, with a market whose name translates to “the salty sea,” what better way for locals to experience Spanish cuisine than at the shore.

Kat Perez said that if it wasn’t for the classes becoming such a big part of the business, she doesn’t believe the market itself would have been sustainable.

The classes have provided them with an opportunity to connect with customers on a deeper level and to build community. In an era where many specialty products can be found online, she said that building a connection with customers is what keeps them coming back to the store. It’s allowed the couple to introduce people to the products and give them a reason to return.

“I just don’t think we would have built these same connections without the classes,” Kat Perez said. “It’s been such a positive thing.”