My other half doesn’t ask for much when it comes to birthday presents, but he usually sets me a culinary challenge instead. For those who know me and my love of food, you’ll be aware of our admiration for José Pizarro and his Bermondsey Street ventures. So, when Ben – my other half – requested a Spanish feast inspired by José for his 33rd birthday, I was more than happy to oblige.
Two weeks before the big day, we began planning the menu – choosing dishes that would both impress and please the crowd. Being the extra girlfriend that I am, I created a menu on Canva to send to our guests, ensuring we’d accounted for any dietary requirements. Several friends even thought it was a real restaurant menu!
One non-negotiable dish for us was Presa Ibérica, which we knew would be one of the stars of the evening. Sourcing it turned out to be trickier than expected – one butcher provided the wrong cut, but thankfully Larder London came to the rescue. A week before the event, we set about perfecting the cooking of this prized cut of meat – often called ‘the Wagyu of the pig world’. Presa Ibérica is a tender, flavourful pork cut taken from the shoulder of the Iberian pig. It’s considered the finest cut of Ibérico pork – thick-cut, juicy, and well-marbled. Unlike pluma or secreto, it’s leaner and uniquely suited to being cooked medium-rare due to the pig’s exquisite rearing. We tested 1.2kg of the meat, eating it for three days straight to perfect the cooking technique.
With just days to go, we also trialled José’s Jamon Ibérico croquettes and deep-fried goat’s cheese with honey – both incredible and surprisingly simple to recreate in true tapas style. We experimented with timings, breadcrumbs, and fridge-resting techniques to ensure everything turned out just right.
As the day approached, I carefully planned the running order of dishes, ordered serveware, made extensive notes, prepped fruit for sangria, and chilled cava and Estrella to complete the experience.
Guests began arriving from 4pm, so I couldn’t resist putting out a spread for them to graze on before the main feast began. Inspired by José, I attempted a vibrant food station setup with red and yellow accents, featuring a selection of Spanish meats, cheeses, antipasti, breads, and of course, boquerones.
The Spanish feast unfolded in three delicious waves:
Batch 1: Croquettes, deep fried goat’s cheese with honey, and an M&S Spanish tortilla ( I can’t do everything!)
Batch 2: Prawn pil pil, mini chorizo sausages and homemade patatas bravas.
Batch 3: The showstopper – Presa Ibérica, served alongside blistered padrón peppers with plenty of flaky sea salt!
And for those still standing – not too tipsy from the sangria or too full from the feast — there was a store-bought Basque cheesecake to round off the evening.
We absolutely love hosting – spending weeks planning menus, selecting serveware, sourcing ingredients, and refining the cooking process to achieve maximum impact with minimum stress. However, our toxic trait is the constant fear that guests might leave still feeling peckish and consider stopping at McDonald’s on the way home. So, in true us fashion, we overbought! Fortunately, our friends – including my fellow marketers, Paige, and Jake – happily took home kilos of leftover presa, chorizo, and padrón peppers. For most, it was their first time trying Presa Ibérica; they were initially wary of the ‘rareness’ but followed my cooking instructions and nailed it – as you can see in the pictures below!
I’ve left my cooking notes for Presa Ibérica below for anyone feeling inspired to recreate it themselves.
How to Cook Presa Ibérica according to me!
Ingredients:
• Presa Ibérica (Iberico pork shoulder cut)
• Maldon salt (or other flaky sea salt)
• Olive oil
• Extra virgin olive oil (for finishing)
Method:
1. Prepare the meat
• Generously season the Presa Ibérica with Maldon salt.
• Lightly coat with olive oil.
2. Sear
• Heat a pan until very hot, then add a splash of olive oil.
• Sear the pork on all three sides:
• Cut side: 1 minute
• Other two sides: 2.5 minutes each
• You want a deep, golden crust.
3. Roast
• Preheat oven to 180°C (fan-assisted).
• Transfer the pork to the oven and roast for 7.5 minutes.
4. Rest
• Remove from the oven and let the meat rest for 12 minutes.
• This allows the juices to redistribute for maximum flavour and tenderness.
5. Finish
• Slice and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch more Maldon salt to taste.