I joined the board of Sonrisas Dental Health in 2014. Sonrisas is a non-profit community dental clinic that provides healthcare to people who face barriers to care. It was founded in 2001 to serve the farmworker community in Half Moon Bay. What's the connection to paella you maybe thinking...
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After joining the board and having recently moved back to Half Moon Bay after living in Spain, we needed to raise money, so I came up with the concept of Cooking for a Cause Paella Demonstration and Dinner. I learned to cook paella in Spain and thought it was the perfect dish for a fundraiser. Cooking for a Cause Paella Demonstration and Dinner was born in 2014 and we had 55 supporters attend. My two friends and I provided a demonstration and cooked three paellas. It was a hit! People really enjoyed it because it wasn't a sit down event in a restaurant or ballroom, and it was fun and unique. Every year, Cooking for a Cause has grown. Now, in our 11th year, we are expecting 200 people. We hold it in September, and if you want to attend, please visit www.sonrisasdental.org
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Cooking for a Cause is a great event I have supported for 11 years. It was in the last couple of years that I began to think about catering. Seeing how much people enjoy it, get engaged in conversation and wonder at the big pans of paella, brought me the idea of Paella Experience. Enjoy some pictures from over the years, the smiles, and great looking paella! By the way, in Spanish, Sonrisas means smiles.
Amizetta Winery
Amizetta Winery brought us in for a member appreciation event after an extensive build of their new tasting room and patio. They wanted to do something nice for 30+ of their members who have not been able to enjoy a winery visit in a few years. They wanted their members to enjoy their incredibly good wine, have some tapas, and the experience of seeing the paella cooking, and having some great paella! A person at the winery had worked at another winery where they had a paella experience. Based on the success at the other winery, Amizetta hired Paella Experience for their member appreciation event.
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We worked with the Amizetta team on a menu. Start off with pan con tomate (baguette slices with tomato) and con Jamon (with ham). Serve a vegan paella and a seafood paella accompanied by a fresh, seasonal salad. After the late lunch, we would serve tarta de Santiago topped with powdered sugar in the the shape of their logo.
The members arrived at 3:00. We had been there since 2:00 doing the set up. At 3:00, members arrived and they were greeted with glasses of wine and the pan con tomate y jamon. Members enjoyed watching the paella cook and engaged in lots of conversation. Spencer Clark, the proprietor, sang and played his guitar for the enjoyment of all. He was really good!
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At 4:15 the paellas were ready to serve. Members got their plates, served themselves salad and sherry vinaigrette before coming to the pans and asking for a serving of one or both paellas and the special requests - more mushrooms, no clams, more scallops...
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After everyone had eaten, and some had seconds, the general manager took a cake to the table and shared the story of the logo and how it was designed by Spencer Clark You will see the logo is an A and a V, but the secret shared, was that it also formed Spencer's initials - SC. After the show, cake was served.
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We received rave reviews on the paella and food. While folks were eating dessert, we packed up and left Amizetta around 5:30.
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A GREAT day!
