The Great Paella of El Tablero served for 5.000 people

 

The Festivities in honor of the Holy Trinity of El Tablero came to an end this Sunday with its 'highlight', the Great Paella cooked for 5.000 people. From 07:00 in the morning the streets of the town were a continuous bustle, first the truck that transported the paella pan to the outside of the Municipal Sports Pavilion, where the fire began to be prepared to achieve "the perfect strength, given that it It is the fundamental element and the secret of good rice,” explained the president of the Jilorio Cooks Association, Ivonne Hernández. 

 

A battalion made up of 18 cooks and kitchen assistants as well as 17 students from the Medium Technical Training Cycle in Cooking and Gastronomy at the IES Faro, coordinated by their teacher, Paco Romero; and a group of Cooking students from the Canary Islands School of Hospitality and Tourism, with their teacher Imad; They met first thing in the morning to coordinate each step of the great dish they had in their hands. “Every ingredient is important, coordination, concentration and not forgetting the love when cooking,” Hernández told them before getting down to work. 

 

 

 

 

In a total of three hours, they put on the fire and cooked a Great Paella that included 350 kilos of rice, 750 liters of broth, 200 kilos of pork leg and the same amount of chicken hams and cuttlefish; 160 kilos of prawns, 135 of mussels, and 650 kilos of vegetables such as garlic, onion, red and green peppers, tomatoes, green beans, bell peppers and parsley; donated by the El Tablero company, Benito Álvarez López, while the rest of the ingredients were received with the collaboration of Lopesan.

 

Once the rice was cooked, another battalion of waiters made up of volunteers and collaborators from the professional associations of the municipality, as well as the Governantas, were in charge of serving the neighbors who, attracted by the delicious smell, stood in a long line to receive the great lunch plate. Accompanying the rice, 5.000 breads and 25 kilos of lemons were served; And not a single detail was missing from the prepared menu. 

 

The Councilor for Celebrations and Events of the San Bartolomé de Tirajana City Council highlighted that this Great Paella has been taking place since 1997, not counting the years in which all events were suspended due to the pandemic. “It is a spectacle to see how it is cooked live and the work carried out by the human team who have been coordinating since 08:00 in the morning to prepare it is admirable. This year the professionalism of our active chefs and the training of the youngest in the sector have merged; the students have found on this day a great challenge that they have passed with honors,” Vega highlighted. 

 

After the cooking hours, the mayor of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Marco Aurelio Pérez, and the councilor for Celebrations and Events, Yilenia Vega; They gave the students a Diploma accrediting their participation in the preparation of paella. Sánchez highlighted that this meeting is the most representative of the El Tablero Festivals, “an event that has been taking place for years and that attracts not only our neighbors, but also many visitors who do not want to miss this event with the delicious paella of record"

 

 

 

 

Before the Great Paella, the solemn religious function was celebrated with the Mass sung by the Friends of the Cucaña Folkloric Group, after which the image of the Holy Trinity toured the streets of El Tablero led by the municipal corporation. The bands Grandes Estefanía and Guiniguada provided the music that accompanied the procession.