Have You Tried “Eat With”?

I’m in Spain volunteering with Vaughan Town, and met a lady from Israel who asked me, “Have you tried Eat With?”

“No, what is that?” I asked.

She told me that eatwith.com, is an Israeli startup website, where you pick a city you’re visiting, and connect with locals who cook a special meal for you in their home.

There are cities all over the world, where you can join a host who will cook a meal, and before you decide on where and what you would like to eat, you can read the reviews.

I shall be with my new Vaughan Volunteer Anglo friend, Yvonne, learning how to make an authentic paella in Madrid. We start at 10 a.m., and finish at 2 p.m. Miriam, our Spanish hostess, will not only explain how to make paella, (I’ve heard that each Spaniard has their own specific recipe) but we shall also learn about local history. I think this is well worth the 38 Euros for a special lunch with wine in a typical Spanish home.

Miriam says:

“Since I was a girl I have loved to cook. I always helped my mother and she taught me traditional dishes as well as the importance of making all the components of a dish from the beginning – sauces, bread, pasta and jams – all home made. Later I start to cook international dishes, and now I feel like I can cook any dish from any part of the world. I love to try new cuisines and it is the second best activity to actually traveling – trying food from all around the world and sharing it with fellow global flavour travelers.”

Here is an example of a retired teacher in Paris, Claudine, who has invited people to “eat with” in the Montmartre district, for 48 Euros. Here is what she offers”

“Spring seems on its way and my Parisian dinner in Montmartre will ,as usual, start with appetizers – homemade like”goujeres” (cheese puffs) or vegetable clafoutis and a couple of “verrines” along with a glass of red or white wine. I may then offer one of my favorite veal casseroles, sometimes cooked in a Moroccan style with the most fragrant spices like saffron, cumin, cinnamon and tumeric and served with semolina or simply sauteed veal cooked in wine and cream and served with a casserole of seasonal vegetables – peas, carrots, fennel, celery,..sprinkled with parsley, chives or chervil – one of the subtlest herbs , to my mind. 
Then, of course, there will be cheese: a creamy Camembert, but also Roquefort, sheep milk blue cheese- or matured Comté – cow cheese from the east of France. As dessert I will be serving my chocolate “fondant” – a most decadent chocolate- cake served with a salad of the sweetest fresh oranges or with strawberries, now that their time has come.”

I checked and there are places all over the U.S. as well as Europe to try authentic cuisine.

I shall let you know how the paella tastes, and what I learned about Madrid, Spain and Spanish cooking.