With his love of vibrant flavours and uncomplicated ingredients, José Pizarro has long delighted customers with his dishes at Brindisa tapas restaurant in London, next door to Borough Market.

His cooking is based on traditional recipes, but gives a modern twist. In his book Seasonal Spanish Food, recipes are simple and easy to follow.

When he first went to London, Spanish food didn’t have the cachet of, say, Italian food.  Maybe that’s because Italians emigrated in huge numbers all over the world, taking their love of pasta and Parmesan with them.

So why has Spanish cuisine remained a mystery to the world until recently? Well, Spain was fairly isolated from Europe under Franco’s rule, and it was difficult to emigrate. Then there was the poor reputation of Spanish gastronomy: the only experience that the public had of Spanish cooking was the food produced for tourists in the Costa del Sol.

Pizarro's infectious enthusiasm for Spanish cooking permeates every page of Seasonal Spanish Food. His message couldn't be simpler – use fresh, good-quality, seasonal ingredients and they will speak for themselves.

By season, he explores his favourite ingredients from different Spanish regions, the culture and history behind them and how best to use them with his exceptional and yet simple recipes.

With anecdotes about typical Spanish pastimes and stories from his youth growing up on a farm in Extremadura, this is a truly Spanish approach to the cuisine, which has integrity and charm.

Thank goodness this magnificent cuisine has now been discovered and is fast becoming the food to cook. At Wickedfood Cooking School Spanish cooking classes are amongst the mos

t popular we have. Seasonal Spanish Food is definitely a book that we will use at Wickedfood Cooking School for inspiration when developing future Spanish cooking classes.   You will turn to this book again and again for recipe ideas for any occasion.

Interested in buying this book? Visit – Red Pepper Books – The South African online bookshop, are able to offer you great prices on any book you are looking for, and they deliver to your door. Pay only R324 for this book (Recommended Retail Price = R400)! Red Pepper Books is offering Wickedfood subscribers an EXTRA 10% off this book. Simply type in the promotional code WICKEDFOOD on the shipping page of the checkout process and your purchase will be reduced by a further 10%.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

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