Barcelona is a great place to meet interesting people and cool concepts related to wine, food, and community. After meeting Alex Betolaza through mutual friends, I was happy to help him with local wine recommendations and local wine distributors to compliment his concept of teaching the joys of making great paella at his new business, The Paella Club. In the year and a half since they’ve opened, TPC has become more than that. It’s become a hub for the Raval neighbourhood, and an introduction to elements of not only Spanish cuisine, but Spanish life to the thousands of visitors who have crossed their threshold.
Alex and his business partner, chef Alex Villar (trust me the Alex and Alex jokes go deep and far 😉 ) They have decided to give back to the community after receiving so much support in their venture. Last week, they launched the TPC Foundation, which will partner with local charities to provide them with a quarterly donation to assist in their initiatives.
How will the TPC Foundation operate? For every person who books a class session at The Paella Club, they will be donating one euro to their chosen charity. The donations will be administered on a quarterly basis.
“Now that I’ve been able to have The Paella Club up and running and full of smiling customers, I feel it’s my responsibility to give back and assist, in whichever way I can, to those in my community that need it the most. Whatever success I have accomplished, means very little if I just keep it to myself. At the end of the day, there is no one in this world that has nothing to share,” Alex says about the initiative.
And chef Alex concurs with these thoughts as well.
“A lot of people helped us out while we were trying to get The Paella Club functioning and now that we are fortunate enough to be in a position that allows us to give back, I think it’s only fair that we put that back into the world, specially to those that needed it the most,” concludes chef Alex.
Their newest partner in the venture, communications manager Marina Solis, provided the missing element to bring the TPC Foundation to life.
“Getting to be part of a company that does not only create a great energy between co-workers, the kind that makes you come everyday with a smile but, also makes it a point in their company policy of giving others whatever help they might need, feels like a rare diamond to find these day, but I’m happy I did,” Marina emphatically shares.
As a fan of all that TPC does, this latest initiative is something I’m personally proud to get behind. Their first charity they are working with as the TPC Foundation will be The Johan Cruyff Foundation. For more details on the TPC Foundation, click here.
As one of our top recommended Barcelona experiences, check out the daily schedule of classes here, and you can easily book an experience online with a few clicks. You won’t be disappointed that you did.