Interactive Cooking

From restaurants to specialty shops and locally grown produce, area businesses are responding to Wilmington’s evolving palate.

Meet some of the women contributing to the area’s vibrant culinary scene – from CHRISTI FERRETTI helping to preserve a fellow chef’s original vision to KAT PEREZ demystifying Spanish cooking techniques to MICHELLE LYON-HEATHERLY providing the greens at The Green House.

Here are excerpts of recent stories from Feast Unwrapped, a sister publication to WILMA magazine. To sign up for the weekly Feast Unwrapped email newsletter (as well as updates on the annual Feast Wilmington food and drink event), go to FeastWilmington.com.

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 market at 908 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.

“I tell this story all the time,” Kat Perez says. “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.

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 them 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.

La Mar’s 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 says. “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.”

To view more of photographer Matt Ray’s work, go to mattrayphotography.com.

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