Today we’d like to introduce you to Adan Ventura.
Hi Adan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Absolutely. My journey started in Spain, where I fell in love with the art of paella while living there with my wife, Yasmin. What began as curiosity quickly became a passion — learning from local chefs, understanding the culture, and perfecting the techniques behind this iconic dish.
When we moved to the United States, first to Miami and then to Dallas, we realized there wasn’t anything quite like the authentic paella experience we had known in Spain. That’s when we created Tasty Paella in 2017 — an idea that combined live cooking, hospitality, and authentic Spanish flavor.
Over the years, we’ve grown from small backyard events to catering large corporate experiences, offering paellas for delivery, and even launching Easy Paella, our ready-to-eat frozen version that’s now sold in Central Market stores across Texas.
In 2022, I was honored to be named Best International Paella Chef in the World at the official World Paella Championship in Spain. That moment validated everything we had built — and it inspired us to keep innovating.
Now, we’ve launched our latest project, the Paella Kit by Chef Adán Ventura, which lets people recreate the Spanish experience at home, and we also host Paella Workshops in Dallas, where we cook paella together with our guests. Each step of this journey has been about sharing authenticity, culture, and joy through food.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not at all — it’s been a road full of challenges, but also full of growth. When we started Tasty Paella, we didn’t have a big team or investors — just passion, a paella pan, and a dream to bring authentic Spanish flavor to Texas.
One of the biggest struggles came in 2020, right before the pandemic. We had just signed the lease for our first commercial kitchen, and suddenly, all live events were canceled. We had to reinvent the business almost overnight, creating Easy Paella, a fully cooked and vacuum-sealed paella that people could enjoy safely at home. That decision ended up saving the company and even opened doors for us to enter major supermarkets like Central Market.
Another ongoing challenge has been educating people about what real paella is — it’s more than rice and seafood; it’s a story, a tradition, a technique. But those challenges also became opportunities to share knowledge and connect with our community in a deeper way.
Every struggle has pushed us to innovate — from launching our Paella Workshops to developing the Paella Kit that now brings the Spanish experience to kitchens across the U.S.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Tasty Paella is all about bringing the authentic Spanish experience to Texas. We specialize in live-cooking paella catering, where our chefs prepare paella on-site for private and corporate events, creating an atmosphere filled with aromas, culture, and joy.
We’re proud to be known for our authenticity and quality — everything we do is rooted in tradition. Our rice comes directly from Valencia, Spain, and we follow the same methods used in traditional Spanish kitchens. Over the years, our brand has become synonymous with real paella in Texas.
What truly sets us apart is that we’ve evolved beyond catering. We now offer Paellas for Takeout, our award-winning Easy Paella (a ready-to-eat version available at Central Market stores and at Tienda.com — the leading distributor of Spanish gourmet products in the U.S.), and most recently, our Paella Kit by Chef Adán Ventura, now available on Amazon. The kit is a complete cooking set that lets anyone recreate the authentic paella experience at home and includes access to my online masterclass, where I teach the same techniques that earned us the Best International Paella in the World award in Spain in 2022.
We’re also proud to offer our Paella Workshops in Dallas, where we cook paella together with our guests in a hands-on, social, and cultural setting. It’s something truly unique in the city — part cooking class, part Spanish fiesta.
At Tasty Paella, our mission is simple: to share the flavor, warmth, and joy of Spanish culture through every plate of paella we serve.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
For me, taking risks has always been part of growth — especially in the culinary and entrepreneurial world. I believe that every meaningful project carries a certain level of uncertainty, but it’s in those moments that creativity and innovation truly happen.
One of the biggest risks we ever took was in 2020, right before the pandemic hit. We had just signed a five-year lease for our first commercial kitchen when suddenly all events were canceled. It could have been the end of Tasty Paella. Instead, we took a leap of faith and reinvented our business model overnight, creating Easy Paella, a fully cooked and vacuum-sealed version that people could buy and enjoy at home. It was risky — we were entering an entirely new product category — but that decision ended up opening doors to retail distribution across Texas.
Later, launching the Paella Kit and our Paella Workshops were also big risks. We invested in new packaging, logistics, and educational experiences without knowing how the market would respond. But I’ve learned that when a risk is guided by passion, authenticity, and purpose, it’s rarely a failure — it’s just the next step in evolution.
I don’t see risk as something to fear; I see it as an opportunity to grow, to innovate, and to share something meaningful with others.
Pricing:
- • Paella Live Cooking Experience: Starting at $37 per person (includes chef on-site, garlic bread, utensils, and full live cooking setup).
- Paella Workshops (Dallas): Tickets $79 per person (includes cooking class, 2 tapas, and a glass of wine).
- Paellas To-Go: From $120 to $310, depending on size (serves 6–15 people).
- Paella Kit by Chef Adán Ventura: $119 (available on Amazon and Walmart, includes ingredients + access to online masterclass).
- Easy Paella (frozen): $22.99 (available at Central Market stores and Tienda.com).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tastypaella.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tastypaellatx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tastypaella
Image Credits
Adán Ventura / Tasty Paella
