Tastemaker Series: Alex Betolaza, The Paella Maestro Who Cooks With Love
Playlist Wine
TL;DR
Meet Alex Betolaza, the force behind Barcelona's The Paella Club, where strangers become friends over paella, wine, and music. His approach to everything? Love, love, and love. For S02E03, Alex curated 12 wines that each mark a memory, a moment, a person in his life.
Love Is the Secret Ingredient
Walk into The Paella Club on a side street off Barcelona's La Rambla and you'll feel it immediately. The energy. The connection. The joy.
Alex Betolaza isn't just teaching you how to make paella. He's creating a space where a tourist from Florida, a couple from Japan, and a solo traveler from Brazil end up cooking, drinking, and laughing together like old friends. Where the music is always playing, the wine is always flowing, and somehow everyone leaves with more than just a full stomach.
His philosophy on wine, music, and food? Love. Love. And love.
It sounds simple, maybe even corny. But when you experience what Alex has built, when you see strangers light up around a pan of paella they made together, you get it. Connection is the point. And wine, music, and food are just the vehicles.
For Playlist's S02E03, Alex curated 12 wines that tell his story. Each bottle marks a memory, a person, a moment. And each one is paired with a song that brings it to life. This isn't just a wine list. It's Alex's life, told through the things he loves most.
Q&A with Alex Betolaza
Matt Friesen (Playlist): I want to start off talking about The Paella Club. I mean, obviously, it's a huge part of who you are, and it's how we met. You've taken the concept and woven not just paella and food, but wine and music and people. What's the story behind the inception?
Alex Betolaza: I've worked in restaurants pretty much all my life. And when you're in this industry, usually your dream is to have your own restaurant, right?
But when I started speaking with more and more people, tourists mostly, what they were looking for was where to go for paella. Since there are a million restaurants in Barcelona, I thought what about a cooking school where we focus on just paella?
We've been running this business since 2017. And it's been growing and growing ever since. To be honest with you we didn't come with this idea about connecting people with wine and food and music and such. The magic is that it became a place where people could connect through cooking and music and drinking, whether they're from the United States or Brazil or Japan, they just want to get together.
MF: I think there are some parallels to our Playlist events, because we didn't have intentionality around creating a connection between people either.
AB: We need to bring people together, whether it's with food, music, culture, painting, or a movie because in the end that's what we need right now.
You won't remember the most beautiful picture that you took in Italy, but you'll remember the experience that you had. The best memories come from the time that you spent with people, whether it was with you and your family or with someone that you just met.
MF: You've been doing this for years, and I need to know, what's the perfect song to cook paella to?
AB: Flamenco, Paco de Lucia, of course. Although, I also love this other song from this movie called Mostly Martha. I think it's a German movie.
There is this amazing songwriter from Italy named Paolo Conte. His song is called "Via Con Me" and in Italian that means come with me. The movie is all about cooking and they're cooking with this guy, Paolo Conte, and they're playing his song, Via Con Me.
If I cook Italian, it has to be Via Con Me, but if I cook paella, it has to be Paco De Lucia.
MF: So what's the most unexpected reaction you've had from guests while they were cooking?
AB: I remember back in 2019 it was just me and my business partner running classes. Every single day at 1pm, 5pm and 8pm, except Sunday.
We had this couple from North Florida in the class one day. Halfway through the class, the guest comes to me and tells me about how he found success after working for 40 years, having opened 25 bakeries in Florida. He says, I've been watching you very closely over the last two hours and you need to keep doing what you're doing. Keep loving what you're loving. And the money will come easily.
And so, I believe when you have a passion, when you focus on what you really want to do for the rest of your life and you work every single day with your heart, you'll eventually be successful.
MF: Going back to some music, what are the top three artists that would be on The Paella Club playlist?
AB: Well 8 out of 11 of our team members are from South America. So, the true essence of The Paella Club is all about salsa. We listen to reggaeton. We listen to Rauw Alejandro. We listen to Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee, and Rosalia every single day, like crazy.
MF: How does the vibrant music scene of Barcelona influence you?
AB: These days in Spain it is all about reggaeton, whether it's from South America, Central America, Puerto Rico, or Spain. But in Barcelona there's always something going on here, the music scene is huge.
MF: If you could invite any musician, past or present, dead or alive, to cook with you at The Paella Club, who would it be?
AB: Ibrahim Ferrer. Do you remember Buena Vista Social Club? No. Buena Vista Social Club is a Cuban music band from back in the nineties.
I think I'd also invite Marc Anthony. I don't know, man. And Paco de Lucia for sure.
MF: I know you cook paella every single day, and you love it. What is something that's maybe an unconventional dish that isn't paella that you also like to cook? What song would you pair with that?
AB: I love spaghetti.
Sometimes it's like spaghetti in a cold salad. Sometimes it's with red marinara sauce. Sometimes it's with meatballs.
But I think I eat spaghetti four times a week. And if I eat spaghetti, we go back to Paolo Conte with "Via Con Me"!
MF: Is there a specific song or an album that holds a special place in your heart? What's the soundtrack for Alex?
AB: It depends on the mood, right?
Sometimes when I cook, I listen to a couple of bands from Spain. Sometimes I listen to Bruce Springsteen. Sometimes it's, believe it or not, Chris Stapleton. Sometimes it's jazz. Sometimes it's Miles Davis or John Coltrane or Bill Evans. If I'm happy, it's going be salsa music like Marc Anthony.
MF: If you could visit any wine region in the world, where would you go?
AB: Before the pandemic, I was planning on going to Burgundy with a very good friend of mine who lives about two hours from there.
Otherwise, I would choose the Okanagan wine region in Canada.
MF: If you had the power to taste music like you can taste wine, what song or album do you think would have the most complex flavor profile?
AB: Kind of Blue from Miles Davis.
MF: I like how you mentioned earlier that there's a memory behind each one of the wines you've curated. Can you tell me about a particular wine that marked a significant moment?
AB: The Vega Sicilia here in Spain is really special. Everybody in Spain idolizes it.
First of all, years ago I didn't like wine enough to spend a lot of money on it. When the business started picking up in 2018 my family came from all over Spain to visit me in Barcelona for Christmas. As soon as our last class before the holiday was over, we all went to the bar and it was the first time that I could actually afford a bottle of Vega Sicilia. It's a hundred Euros or so for a bottle. I opened it up, I drank it, my mom drank it, and it was just like drinking silk. It was amazing. So easy to drink, mellow and silky, smooth, gorgeous. I kept the empty bottle as a souvenir to remember that moment.
MF: Finally, can you encapsulate your approach to wine, music, and food in three words?
AB: Love. Love. And love. Is that okay?
MF: That's perfect. It's just so fitting.
AB: Music is all about love. Food is all about love. Wine is all about love. And The Paella Club is all about love and bringing people together. I know that it sounds very corny, but if there's no love in life, man, what is the point, right?
Discover Alex's Drop
Explore the 12 wines Alex Betolaza curated for S02E03. Each bottle tells a story, marks a memory, and pairs with a song that brings it to life.
FAQs
Who is Alex Betolaza?
Alex is the founder of The Paella Club in Barcelona, where he creates unforgettable experiences through cooking, wine, and music. He's known for his infectious energy and ability to bring strangers together.
What makes Alex's wine curation special?
Every bottle in his S02E03 curation marks a specific memory or person in his life. These aren't just wines he likes. They're stories told through bottles and songs.
What Drop did Alex curate for Playlist?
Alex curated S02E03, featuring 12 wines paired with songs that resonate with the moments they represent.
What's his philosophy on wine, music, and food?
Love. Love. And love. Alex believes connection is the point, and wine, music, and food are just the vehicles for bringing people together.
What wine marked a significant moment for Alex?
Vega Sicilia, which he opened with his family when The Paella Club started finding success. It was the first time he could afford the iconic Spanish wine, and he drank it with his mom. He still has the empty bottle as a souvenir.
