Spain: Mathew Norton (Food in Seville)

Food in Seville

Food is very important in Seville; as my host mom put it, “La comida es tan sagrada.” In Spain, a lot of the food is sourced from within the country, and Spaniards make a great effort to not let food go to waste. In my homestay, you portion your meals such that you will eat all of the food on the plate, and if there is food that you don’t like, you let them know so they don’t make it for you next time. Although this isn’t universal, in the States, we tend to waste a lot of food. Adopting certain aspects of the Spanish attitude when it comes to food would, I believe, help reduce the food waste we produce.

One of the classics for Sevilla and Andalucía as a whole is the concept of tapas. Instead of ordering one large plate at a restaurant, you can order smaller plates one at a time, allowing you to both try more things and gauge your hunger throughout the meal. Personally, I think it’s awesome. Splitting tapas with friends allows you to try even more, and instead of having to accurately estimate how much you can eat before the meal, you can notice that you’re getting more full after a few tapas and just simply not order any more. It’s allowed me to try various dishes, like paella, arroz negro, ensaladilla, and more. There’s also a lot of seafood here due to the proximity of the Mediterranean, so I tried squid and clams for the first time here in Spain.

Lastly, I wanted to touch on how my homestay meals typically go here:

• Breakfast: typically around 9 AM (when I don’t have early classes), lightest meal of the day. Often toast with butter or olive oil for Spaniards, although I’ve been having cereal and a bocadillo (sandwich) since I’m usually pretty hungry in the mornings.
• Lunch: typically around 1:30-2:30 PM (though in Spain it’s usually around an hour later than this), largest meal of the day. During the summer, shops often close around this time to spend time with family and avoid the heat.
• Dinner: around 8:30-9:30 PM (add an hour again for most Spaniards). Similar to lunch, but a bit lighter.

For lunch and dinner, there’s many different things you could be served, but you typically have some kind of salad, a main dish, a side (for lunch), bread, and some fruit or a pastry, traditionally in that order. At first it was strange for me to have such a rigid order (although my host mom has made it clear I don’t have to follow it), but I’ve found that I appreciate it more now. It makes it easier for me to eat more salads, and I can always look forward to the fruit at the end of the meal.

Although I’m still discovering more the culture around eating in Sevilla and Spain as a whole, living here has taught me about another set of values and another way of experiencing meals, and I hope to take some of these traditions back home with me.

Matthew Norton  

Major: Computer Sciences, Mathematics

Hometown: Hopkins, MN

Program: CIEE Advanced Liberal Arts & Liberal Arts in Seville, Spain