60th Concurso de Paella Valenciana de Sueca Valencia

5th Pacific Semi Finals

Sunday 19th April 2020

The Concurso Internacional de Paella Valenciana, held in the village of Sueca, Valencia, is now in its 60th year

and regarded as the most prestigious cooking and Paella contest in Spain and the world

The competition was initially started to raise the standards and restore the highest

quality of preparation

and cooking of authentic Valencian Paella, as well as creating a greater awareness

and recognition of Valencian Paella internationally.

The contest attracts leading Paella chefs from from around the world with the winner of the Sueca

contest acknowledged by the Paella and Spanish world of gastronomy as the leading Paella Chef in the world!

The international prestige of the Competition extends to competing teams from the

United States, Peru, Japan, France, Germany, Puerto Rico, Argentina, and of course Australia and New Zealand.

The two finalists of each region semi-final receive an invitation to compete in the International finals in Sueca,

Valencia in September to compete against the top Spanish, Valencian and International semi-finalists.

​Entry into the final of the Sueca Paella Valenciana Competition in Spain

can only be gained through winning a place in a regional semi finals.

prizes this year are

1st Place: : $600.00; Gold Medal: Invitation to the Concurso Internacional de Paella Valenciana de Sueca and full accomodation in Sueca, Valencia : Prize value 1000.00

2nd place : Silver Medal: $400.00 Invitation to the Finals in Sueca and accomodation. value 800.00

3rd place : Bronze medal. Full paella set. value $600.00

The Schedule

Preparation will commence with teams at 10 am.

Contestants register and collect their ingredients

Cooking will commence for all contestants at 12 p.m.

At 1.30 pm a 15 minute warning will be given.

At 1.45 cooking stops and the paella must be finished,

ready to be taken for judging at 2 pm.

The winners, will be announced at 3 pm.

The Judging Panel

The judging panel will consist of international and local representatives:

The Recipe and Ingredients

The semi-final will see teams prepare and cook a traditional Valencian Paella within the

specified time and at the conclusion, present the paella to the judges for adjudication.

In order that all the contestants compete under the same conditions

the Competition Committee will provide each Chef with the following ingredients

1.5 kilos Tartana Bomba DO Valencia rice

1 litre Tasmanian Olive Groves Oil

4 dozen snails (prepared and frozen)

1.500 kg green beans

500g of favela, (soft grain beans )and

1 kg of lima (broad beans or white kidney beans)

1 kg of ripe tasmanian tomatoes

1 head of Tasmanian garlic

1 packet of Tas-Saff Tasmanian Saffron (0.5g)

1 packet of Saffron powder

2 Nichols Chickens

2 rabbits

Tasman Sea Salt

1 tin of Spanish paprika

​ All cooking equipment will be supplied ( except knives)

Judging

The judging panel will score the quality of the paella by the following criteria:

a) Rice: texture and consistency

b) Taste: A rich flavor derived from fresh ingredients

c) Colour:

d) The even distribution and symmetry of the ingredients

e) Socarrat : The caramelised crispy layer at the bottom of the paella