Álora residents become first expats to win a prize in paella competition

Two British expats in Álora have become the first foreigners to win a prize in the Memorial Antonio El Paílla paella competition, which was held during the verbena (fair) in the El Puente district last Sunday.

Tim Meal, who has lived in Álora for 20 years, and his neighbour, David Thomas, came second in the paella competition, after their traditional rice and seafood dish got the thumbs up from the Spanish judges. The competition was won by local resident Joaquín.

“This is the first time we have entered this competition, and we were the only foreigners taking part. Word got around that there were two ‘guiris’ taking part, which surprised some of the locals, and even more so when we won a prize of 100 euros,” Tim told SUR in English.