June is the beginning of winter in Australia when we look forward to eating delicious warming soups, stews and broths — especially in Orange. But June is also when we celebrate all things tapas on World Tapas Day, June 15, although in Australia this year we are making it a week-long celebration from June 12-16.

Tapas, as you may know, is one of the most important ways of eating in Spain. It is definitely a celebration of our culture, friends and delicious food. I see a lot of misunderstanding about what tapas are here in Australia, so allow me to share with you what they are for me. A ‘tapa’ is a portion of food served, usually for free in the South of Madrid, to go along with your drink. We LOVE going out for ‘cañas’ (a 150-ish ml glass of really cold beer) from bar to bar. Sometimes we drink one of those beers, pay and move on to another establishment, doing a ‘bar crawl’ we could call it. But other times we stay in the same bar and drink more than one, socializing with friends either for lunch or dinner.

As you see, drinking is a big part of our culture too, however, we always eat tapas with our consumption, and that’s why the whole experience becomes more ‘family friendly’ and enjoyable. We actually can’t drink without eating! This is interesting because after traveling and living overseas for so many years I’ve realized how different it is from other cultures. For us food is always first, then we drink.

As an aside, there are many theories about the origins of Tapas, but I will narrow it down by saying that historically bars use to cover the glasses of sherry in order to keep the flies out. The phrase “to cover” translates into Spanish as “tapar”, hence the word tapas.

Australia started learning about Spanish food and culture thanks to the migration of Spanish in the 60s, escaping the horrors of the Civil War. The first migrants arrived in 1966 and soon they started creating ways of socialising in the Spanish way, founding the Basque Gure Txoko Club in 1966 in Sydney, followed by the Spanish Clubs in Sydney and Melbourne. Many other restaurants and bars opened in the 80s and 90s. However, most Australians didn’t know about Spanish food until 2003, when celebrity chef Frank Camorra opened the super well-known Melbourne Tapas bar called MoVida. To put this in context, in my humble opinion, this was the starting point where Aussies finally got their eyes on Spanish products, combinations of flavours, different wine varieties, et cetera.

His most famous tapa, the ‘Cantabrian anchovy with smoked tomato sorbet’ was a declaration of his intentions, hinting at what was to come in the next decades. I had the privilege of working with Frank and having him as my mentor. I can tell you that opening and making trendy tapas bars in Australia and overseas hasn’t been easy for him. That’s why the Spanish and Aussie communities owe Frank so much for what he did!

Since 2009, I’ve had the dream of seeing people cook Spanish food at home once per week at home, and I reckon that the first step is understanding Spanish products and being able to fill up our pantries with Spanish flavours. The options nowadays are limitless in supermarkets and online, from incredible fish and seafood tins (the best in the world!), great smallgoods and cheese, spices like pimentón or saffron, awesome quality pulses, vegetables, unique varieties of rice — and more! 

So this week I'd like to ask you, my readers to join me and celebrate Spanish food and culture here in Australia. The association EAT SPANISH, which I am a part of, is organising an online contest to find the best tapa in Australia! The competition is open to anyone in Australia and I would love to see Orange represented.

All you have to do is channel your creativity to make an authentic tapa, using Spanish products and Spanish techniques, and send in a photo and detailed recipe. It is an opportunity to win awesome prizes and claim the title of Best Tapa in Australia!

Check it out by visiting eatspanish.com.au or search for ‘Eat Spanish’ on Facebook and Instagram.

NOTE: Tapas, I believe, must always be made with Spanish products and Spanish techniques. Let me clarify this. Not everything served in small portions here in Australia should be called ‘tapas’. I personally encourage you not to do it. There are plenty of English words we can use for that like nibbles, morsels... you name it! I believe it is time we, the professional chefs in Australia, draw a line and speak up about it.