Tapas - Tiny Spanish treats gain ground across the U.S. - and in local cooking class

“Using a small knife, Helen Liew carefully cut the center out of tiny cherry tomatoes and filled the hole with a chunky green paste.

It was early on a Saturday morning, but the kitchen of the School of Culinary Arts at the Yorktowne Business Institute was filled with the smells of frying oil, garlic and potent herbs. The tapas-cooking-class students busily prepared snacks with bacon, dates, squid and clams.

The instructor, chef Jason Viscount, said in Spain, where it’s common to serve snacks at all hours of the day or night, tapas is bar food served with sherry or cocktails. When Spanish socialites take to the bars after work or clubbing, they don’t eat pretzels and popcorn like American bar hoppers. They offer a more upscale presentation of marinated mozzarella balls, fried squid and miniature sandwiches served on small plates.”

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