Barcelona

Paula, Barcelona Bureau Chief
Born in the Albariño wine region of Galica, insider Paula has lived and worked in Barcelona since 2000 with professional experiences ranging from creative consultant to copywriting. Since 2010, she has led the Culinary Backstreets team as a restaurant critic, experience designer and culinary walk leader. Her work has been featured in USA Today and other major publications as well as National Geographic’s show Top Tables, Top Cities.

Nick, Barcelona Walk Leader
Originally from the U.K., Spain enchanted Nick more than 20 years ago and he hasn’t left since. A professional guide focusing on Spanish culture and cuisine as well as trekking in the countryside, Nick has called the Gracia neighborhood of Barcelona home for the last 12 years. His mother tongue may be English but the Catalan and Spanish of his adopted home country flow naturally from him. When cooking, as is his passion, he is purely native Catalan.

Already in love with Spanish culture, lifestyle and food, Pamela moved from Italy to Barcelona in 2016 to work for the European Region of Gastronomy project, which aims at preserving and enhancing local culinary heritage and promoting more sustainable and healthy foodways. Since then she has made the divulgence of Catalan cuisine and traditions her mission!

Istanbulite by birth, Barcelonan by choice, Senem is a bonafide professional guide having worked her way up through the trenches of the industry. She started out working on cruise ships and then spent years of leading groups on whistle-stop tours of European capitals, always thrilled to be on the road, traveling. After falling for Barcelona after visiting the city as part of several tours and cruises, she finally decided to make her home in Barcelona and herself a citizen of the city. As a non-native, she brings an interesting perspective and revels in her daily discoveries in the city. A great eater, cook, linguist and traveler, Senem is the best friend, or guide, to have in Barcelona.

Lynda first left her home town of Sydney, Australia, in late 1991 to travel the world. Ten months and three continents later, she pitched up in Barcelona and was immediately captivated by the city and its people, especially one named Xavier. Thirty years and three children later, she and Xavi still like nothing better than to explore Barcelona’s ever-changing food scene, where Lynda’s 25 years as a translator for the wine and restaurant sector, among others, are put to enthusiastic use.

Born and raised in Barcelona, Carla has loved cooking and baking since she was a child. After traveling throughout the world for several years and obtaining several academic degrees, she decided to become a pastry chef. Since then, she’s worked in a number of restaurants and also as a private chef in both Spain and Greece. She has also spent many years organizing cooking workshops and leading culinary tours. As a tour guide, she hopes to be able to showcase Barcelona’s culinary traditions and their history in a fresh and friendly way. Along with exploring Barcelona’s restaurants and hunting down the city’s artisanal sweets, she enjoys spending time at the city’s beaches and walking her dogs through its parks.

Lior is a food and wine enthusiast who’s been lucky enough to call Barcelona home since 2015. Her journey to that city began after leaving a career in corporate communications to follow a passion for food. After training at the prestigious Hofmann Culinary School in Barcelona, Lior realized that wine was an essential part of the full culinary experience. This led her to dive deep into the world of wine, earning a Wine & Spirit Education Trust Level 3 certification. Since 2017, Lior has been sharing her love for local food and wine with visitors to Barcelona from around the world.