Any Valencian knows that eating an authentic wood-fired paella is synonymous with family, tradition, and authenticity.
In 1989, Rafa Margós's father left farming to pursue a dream with his mother, Ana: to share the original paella recipe with the world. It was a decision that would change their lives forever. He opened his own bakery. “Paellas Margós”, which would later become Las Bairetas, and registered in 1995 the first trial of preserving paellas over a wood fire at the CSIC.
In Las Bairetas every weekend, the Margós family He dedicated himself to cooking hundreds of paellas over a wood fire in the largest paella pan known. Ninety-seven square meters of Valencian essence. Of passion, roots and hospitality.
After several years of researching how to preserve paella over a wood fire, Rafael Margós's (father's) dream was sidelined due to the technological limitations of the time. The final quality was not satisfactory, and the preservation process... Industrializing the original flavor of Paella was not possible with the resources available in the nineties.
However, he was able to instill in his entire family his passion for wood-fired paella and share with them his dream of bringing the original version of paella to any corner of the world. That recipe he taught all his children, the same one he used 100 years ago. His grandmother taught him when he was only 8 years old. That's where El Paeller originated.
“Why could the taste of a good Paella only be enjoyed in Valencia?” his father would say.Her passion for paella was passed on to all her children: Pablo, Marcos, Rodrigo, and Rafa. But it was Our Master Paella's restlessness and curiosity drove him to get involved in innovative and challenging projects, following the same dream as his father and becoming a role model for all his siblings.
After 25 years of R&D, the eldest son of the Margós family has made it possible. The most important aspect of this research was achieving a Safe preservation and concentrating in a can the best flavors of our land, without adding anything that was not in the original recipe that he learned from his father. That is, only natural and locally sourced products. And of course, respecting the traditional method of preparing Paella over an open fire. Without firewood, it would not be possible to capture the essence of the Valencian people.
After cooking 300,000 paellas over a wood fire, Rafa established a unique process for standardizing his methods, ensuring that all his paellas had the same flavor, aroma, and color. To achieve this perfect match, his paellas are identical. It doses each ingredient in proportionate quantities and uses technology in the preparation to achieve the perfect finish. The most expensive part was calculating the cooking times and the textures and flavors to respect the authenticity.
The Ritual that celebrates life.
The decision was made not to include rice in order to promote the culture of Paella. And indeed, every Paella cooked in the Valencian Community embodies an inherent value that permeates the atmosphere. It's about gathering with family and friends around the fire, practicing the art of living and sharing.
Rafa wanted that too, that every house could be a place to live the true Paella Ritual. The one he had lived with since his parents, driven by life's difficulties, decided to change course and follow their dreams. In the end, Rafa's dream is a commitment to defending what is authentic. A responsibility as a Valencian to showcase the authentic wood-fired paella. Remembering his father and celebrating life.
