Laurence Dollimore
HOLLYWOOD actor Rob Schneider is the latest celeb to make the schoolboy error of putting his own spin on the classic paella.
The Deuce Bigalow star tweeted a picture of his take on the traditional dish on Christmas day, which included giant lobsters and clams, only to feel the wrath of unimpressed Spaniards.
“Dude, that paella is a 2.5/10 quality. Come to Spain to taste the REAL ONE,” Spanish Youtuber Liberty-Mario sniped at Schneider, before later downgrading his rating to an even more brutal 0.033/10.
Another Tweeter said: “This is not paella: this is rice with things.”
While journalist Manolo Montalt added:“If this is paella, my balls are carnations.”
“What?! You forgot the chorizo!!” joked one reply, making reference to Jamie Oliver’s now infamous take on the dish which included the Valencian no-no of chorizo.
In attempt to assuage his haters, Schneider only added fuel to the flames, Tweeting: “For the people of Sevilla who were insulted by my paella, I didn’t mean to use lobsters. They crawled in the pan by themselves!”
Spanish chef Jose Andres responded: “Paella is from Valencia…. Breath in, breath out! Mayhem has broken… you maybe handcuffed if you travel to Valencia!”
Food is judged by flavor and quality – not by parrochial food police. There are hundreds of good ways to prepare rice, fregula, vegetables etc. with ‘seafood stuff in it’ along the Mediterranean/Atlantic coast. Credit to Rob Schneider for making, no doubt, a delicious variant.
It still doesn’t rate being called paella, just as squid rings in batter with patatas bravas isn’t fish’n chips.
There are scores of paella recipes in Spain – not just the one made by the critic’s granny.
This is why “denominacion de origen” was invented for some food and drinks. Quite sensible really, it prevents pointless wrangling and preserves particular formulations of ingredients and geographical sources. Champagne, Parmesan, etc. A fair case could be made for paella. No-one can be prevented from varying or copying a recipe, they just can’t use the name. DDO is fairly hard-won though.
chas, i think I would take your version regarding paella recipe.
Paella comes from the Valencia region, where the dish’s two most vital ingredients grow: rice and saffron. Both ingredients came to Spain through the 700-year Arabic occupation of Andalusia. Not long after the Moors were cast from the garden by the Catholics in the 15th century, records began to surface of farmers in the fields outside Valencia cooking large pans of rice, vegetables and meat over open flames. In the centuries to follow, those hodgepodge pans came into focus, first in what is considered the official paella valenciana, a mixture of chicken, rabbit and variety of legumes, with snails and duck as optional constituents. Later, as the pans of rice moved toward the coast, the paella de mariscos developed, incorporating all manners of aquatic life, but most commonly shrimp, mussels and squid. So basically which is the correct paella?.
I suppose one could also name the originality of the pizza from the basic form of the Margarita where various ingredients were added to the dough which I find quite bland compared to the choices now available.
Actually stefanjo, squid is not a fish so why associated that with fish’n and chips.
I agree completely. Food has always improved when people try new ways of cooking or play around with the ingredients. The attitude of these people shows up the Spanish fear of trying anything different or new. God forbid!
Sadly this is a trait shared right across the mainland. Every time there’s a fete here, in this part of the SW it’s the same bloody thing – sausage and aligot, a mixture of mashed potato and cheese, very nice but every time. The truth is that all the counties that I have visited on the mainland cannot / will not change, except for one thing bloody junk food and liquid poison – Mcdonalds / Burger King and Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola. The last time I ingested this crap I was 27 and that was a long time ago.
How long ago was that then Stuart, Mmm, age catching up I see, in that case you would have remembered before all that junk food.
Not quite sure what your saying Carlos. Even after a hard day’s work on noisy huge construction sites I always prepared my own meals. The days when a Uncle Sam’s burgers were the benchmark with a choice of delicious relishes are long gone – great after going to see a band but never regular food. What the hell has age got to do with anything other than I was not even born when Coca Cola was made from stimulants from South America and West Africa – did you know that the concentrated crap they make C/C from now has to be transported with the dangerous chemicals notice on the wagons.
Stuart you surprise me. How come, “Even after a hard day’s work on noisy huge construction sites I always prepared my own meals”. I would have thought that after such a grueling day you would have had a good woman at home with a cooked meal waiting for you. Anyway, as for the fast food scenario and perhaps may work in with your age frame, McDonald’s/Burger King first opened in the UK in 1955 and Kentucky Fried opened in 1965. Pizza Express also opened in 1965 so does any of that work into your age cycle of fast foods. As for a “pizza” I could tell you a true story about that which I first proposed to an Italian friend way before pizza’s or Pizza Express existed in the UK and if my offer had been accepted no doubt I would not be making comments on OP. BTW. I think you may find that the link will show that the fizzy drink was first established in Spain. Stolen by the yanks for a few dollars.
“http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/08/10/newser-spanish-town-coca-cola/2638515/”
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