My History

My name is Nicelio.  I was born in Cuba and at the age of 11, I immigrated to Madrid, Spain. My ancestors are from the small town of La Acebosa in the northern region of Cantabria.  Growing up in Spain provided me with the necessary moral foundation and upbringing to make me the man I became.  It also exposed me to one of the best cuisines in the world.

On Sundays, we used to go the “Casa de Campo” in Madrid.  This is a large park located in the outskirts of the city.  One of the main attractions in the summer was to cook paellas.  A few rocks to create a fire pit, firewood, an iron cast paellera and great ingredients were the basic items required to create a master piece while spending a nice summer afternoon with family and friends.

The final presentation of a paella gives you the impression that only the culinary elite could achieve such a “work of art”, intimidating all of us to even try it.

At the age of 18, I arrived in California.  I started working and accustomed myself to the new American culture.  Time passed and I settled down and started a family.  About five years ago, I met Tish and Tim.  Tish lived in Spain for two years and is very familiar with the Spanish culture, including the ultimate challenge….paellas.  We talked about cooking our own paellas and with the encouragement of Tim, we decided to give it try.  For our first “Spanish Night” dinner, we created a simple menu: paella, tortilla Española, pork chops on the grill and a few good bottles of wine.  I must mention that Tim was raised in Texas, meaning no gas grill.  Everything must be mesquite charcoal, and believe me when I tell you, I am so glad he is set in his ways.

I prepared myself for the task by collecting thoughts and memories of the events at Casa de Campo. We started with two 10″ paelleras and we successfully completed our initiation run.  But, something was missing.  It was a combination of flavor and presentation.  We found reasons to get together and kept improving our paellas. I finally made an investment and purchased my 26″ paellera.

Paella cooking is a good reason to get together with friends and family.  Tish and Tim called it the “Spanish Night Festivity” and it is easy to convince the Loyalists to come together for this celebration. Sebi, my middle child, started helping me cook paellas. When I start cooking with him, people gather around us.  Paella cooking becomes the main focus of conversation and the “construction” of the paella becomes the main focus of attention.

I want you to enjoy this feeling with your family and friends.  This is why I am taking the time to do this for you.  The satisfaction that you will get from the event will make you realize that life is made of small moments, which allow us to cherish friends and family and create memories….like the ones from my Casa de Campo days.