A trip to taste Barcelona

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I have always liked to feed others; always. That would be the great mantra of Camila Loew, a resident of the United States, where she founded Sobremesa Culinary Tours, guided gastronomic tours that have Barcelona as one of their epicenters.

«The concept of "sobremesa" (after-dinner conversation) is quite unknown in the United States: I understand it in relation to everything that surrounds the act of eating, which is as important as what is on the plate. It is radically opposed to the American fast food culture. This is what I try to convey: the pleasure of sitting calmly and unhurriedly at the table and sharing a good time. No eating standing up, something that is very common in the United States. In my classes, I always try to teach simple recipes so that there can be a good time for "sobremesa". Fortunately, attendees understand the concept right away». And in this way, understanding that eating is a social act and not just a physical necessity is what prevails in everything this lover of good cuisine, who defines herself as a perpetual foreigner, does.

Born in Argentina, she has lived in Buenos Aires, California, and Barcelona, but it was in the Catalan capital where her perception of food began to change, when she became pregnant for the first time: «It was at that moment when the healthy and nutritional aspect of food began to matter more to me. I attended many courses and workshops in Barcelona and New York (at the prestigious Natural Gourmet Institute). I attended so many that there came a point where it was too much for me, I felt the need to start communicating everything I had learned. I created www.desayunoconguisantes.com, a blog through which I uploaded healthy recipes every week, and on weekends I started teaching healthy cooking classes».

All of this culminated in 2013 when, with two children and ten suitcases, she and her husband moved from Barcelona to Berkeley, California. «We wanted our children to have the experience of growing up in different cultures, as had happened to me. And, personally, that's when I decided to dedicate myself body and soul to food».

At that moment Sobremesa was born, which for a few years she combined with her work as a teacher, culinary director and then academic dean of the Bauman College for Holistic Nutrition and Culinary Arts. «I created Sobremesa in early 2014: we started by organizing workshops, caterings, community and private classes, and team-building events for companies».

In fact, it was the insistence of her students that encouraged her to create Sobremesa Culinary Tours in 2017: «They were the main culprits of all this and the ones who pushed me to create the tours. For a year I was researching and designing the experiences, and last year we launched the project in Barcelona and San Sebastián; both tours were fully booked and the experience was a success. This 2018 we repeat in these cities and add Japan».

The tours are intended for groups of eight people: «The intention is to maintain an intimate and personalized atmosphere; I thought this number was ideal to avoid resorting to a megaphone or a banner». The first tours have been filled by word of mouth and, in fact, many of those enrolled were already Camila's students. But people from other parts of the United States have also signed up: «Traditional Spanish cuisine has been experiencing a boom in the United States for a few years now. I think they are seduced by cuisine based on high-quality product prepared in a simple and seasonal way».

The tour gastronomic through Barcelona lasts nine days:«The purpose is to offer a look at traditional culture through gastronomy, an essential part of any culture. Getting to know a place through its gastronomic customs is a sensory experience, of course, but it is also getting to know the history, the customs of the place and its people».

It was also important to break with the organized tourism that she so detests and to show the city where she lived for approximately fifteen years. «Barcelona is much more than paella on Las Ramblas, sangria, and Mexican hats. I have always rejected that. We propose a quality alternative to mass tourism, something that in Barcelona is still to be resolved. Attendees leave with a perspective of the city, the country, and the culture that an accidental tourist hardly ever reaches».

The tour agenda is very complete: «Designing these tours was a challenge, the most difficult thing is to find the balance between offering a lot and not losing the calm and pleasant spirit of the after-dinner conversation». Cooking classes with local chefs and with Camila herself, guided visits to the different markets of Barcelona, meals in restaurants in the Ciudad Condal... «We stayed in Barcelona, but we also made several excursions: to the organic gardens area of Maresme, to see the flora of Collserola and a visit to some wineries in Sant Sadurní. Another activity that the attendees liked the most was an extra virgin olive oil tasting. The owner was surprised that all attendees bought at least one bottle, and some even a few. She didn't know that in one of the schools in California, students know me as the queen of olive oil».

Cultural visits and shopping could not be missed. They visit Casa Batlló, Camila's favorite building. At the same time, Camila also recommends her reference stores: «I always recommend the small businesses in the different neighborhoods of Barcelona. Artisan and quality local shops». The attendees of the tour only had one free night to do whatever they wanted: «I offered them an optional activity, a traditional Catalan dinner at the home of a friend of mine who is a cook. My surprise was that almost everyone signed up and enjoyed it immensely».

After the resounding success of the first edition, at the end of October 2018, new American gastronomic tourists will return to Barcelona to taste all its corners.