Postie by day, paella master by night

BY day Dav Nezhat delivers letters and parcels but when he gets into the kitchen he transforms into Don Francisco, a self-taught private chef conjuring up first class Spanish cuisine.

- By LYNETTE PINCHESS

Tapas and large pans of paella are his speciality.

After cooking for friends and family he is now ready to take the next step, by launching it as a business at people’s homes or party venues.

"Spanish food is the go-to. I love Spain, we go there as much as we can," said Dav, who is half Iranian and half English. "We go to a place called Palamós in Catalonia to a huge campsite. That’s where I learnt how to make paella.

"We were off out one night, walking through the campsite as the sun’s setting and outside every other caravan or tent there was paella bubbling away - either that or some kind of animal on a spit."

Dav mastered the art of creating the perfect paella from a family at the campsite. Spain's famous dish, originating from Valencia region, is characterised by saffron-infused rice cooked with various ingredients such as meat, seafood, and vegetables. The secret is to "leave it alone" and not stir the rice to create 'socarrat' a crispy, caramelised layer at the bottom of the pan.

"You learn something new every time you go to Spain. I was watching a video of this famous chef and someone asked him how many recipes there are for paella. He was from a small town in Valencia, population of 2.400 people. In that little town there were 2,400 recipes for paella.