You will have seen me quote on this site the comments of one of the foremost authorities on the culinary history of Spain, the prolific author Luis Benavides-Barajas. This man has forgotten more about Spanish food than I will ever know. Whenever we meet for lunch, he talks and I listen. In my opinion, such knowledge is invaluable. Too few former chefs in their late seventies are around to pass on all they have learned about preparing and cooking Spanish food. He is just one of the many fascinating figures I have met on my culinary travels through the country. But Luis was ahead of his time. He first became famous outside of his own country when he was owner of an award winning restaurant in London. In the 1970’s he ran one of the very first and most famous Spanish restaurants in the capital. It was called ‘Dulcinea’ (in tribute to Don Quixote) and it figured in all the good food guides of the time. His regular clients included many of the stars of stage, screen and music. In the 1980’s Luis and his late English wife Susan decided to move back to his native Spain and they settled in the town of Almuñécar on the consistently warm Costa Tropical. Later he moved inland to the town of Padul, a little south of the city of Granada. Luis says: “I got to know Granada when I returned to Spain after 27 years in England. It is a unique place. It is very Moorish and has so much character. Only Seville compares to it. “I like Granada because it is a city you can walk around easily and it varies greatly once you walk through the narrow streets behind the main thoroughfare. It is full of character. Granadinos are very conservative people in their outlook and they are proud of their city.” So after living in England for twenty seven years, why did he return to Spain? “It was my wife Susan who wanted to come back to Spain, for all the usual reasons. It was a very cheap country to live in back then and, of course, much warmer than England. “I had to reinvent myself so I set about writing books on the regional cooking available in Spain. I look at the history of Spanish food and how it has developed. For example, in the only book that has been translated into English, ‘The Alhambra– Under the Half Moon’, I explore the food that was popular in Andalucia at the time of the last Moorish King of Spain, Boabdil. “Publishing your own books is hard work these days, especially at my age, but I am pleased that I come across so many people whose mothers or grandmothers have my books in their kitchen.” Luis is from Toro near historic Zamora in northern Spain. Locals in Andalucia look upon him as a foreigner. He says the typical food there is very different from that in Andalucia. I ask him why so few restaurants in the south serve fresh vegetables. Luis says: “It's because many chefs don’t know what to do with vegetables. Too many kitchens use frozen or tinned food which is a pity because it is the freshness of the ingredients that make all the difference. “For example, Habas con Jamón is a wonderful dish providing the habas are fresh as they are between April and June each year. But so many places use frozen broad beans. They do not taste as good. The dish goes back many centuries. I found a recipe for Habas con Jamón going back to the 16 century.” And what about tapas bars themselves. What should people looking for before deciding upon which bars to frequent? Luis says: “Home cooking is essential. Look for somewhere serving home cooked food and a bar run by professionals. The character of those cooking and serving the tapas will make all the difference to your experience.”