Giant Paella Pan Has St. Louis Eating Spanish-Style

Size isn't everything, but for the paella pan that's become the talk of the Tower Grove Farmers Market, it sure doesn't hurt.

The pan, imported from Spain and dubbed Lidiana by its adoring owners, is nearly three feet across rim to rim. It can make approximately 75 to 100 servings of the beloved rice dish and requires its own propane burner; ordinary heat sources would never do.

Unsurprisingly, it's also pretty damn heavy. "I can lift it myself," notes co-owner Brian Pelletier. "But I don't want to carry it that far."

The pan is the property of Tale to Table, the Maplewood shop Pelletier co-owns with Kate Hannan.  But thanks to their recent demonstrations with it at food-centric events including Taste of Maplewood, in some ways, it now belongs to all our hearts (or maybe, more accurately, taste buds). "We've built a following with it," Pelletier says.

In south city, that's owing to monthly demonstrations at the Tuesday Tower Grove Farmers Market. "We have a lot of people who are interested and make plans to be there and have the paella," he says.  That might take place on site — they sell individual servings for $5 — or as takeout (it's $12 for a portion size big enough for two and a half people).  "A lot of people are looking for something to eat there, but there's also a lot of people looking for something to have at home."

And even if you're not hungry, watching the demonstration can be its own reward. Pelletier and Hannan admit that it took them almost a year before they felt comfortable enough with their giant new toy to show off what it could do in public. Now they've come to enjoy the two hours of cooking, chatting with paella enthusiasts who stop by to say hi.

The delicious aromas wafting from the pan have become all the advertisement their demonstrations need. "You can smell it from half a mile away," Pelletier says. "People come over to say, 'What is this?'" Once there, they're pretty easy to hook.

Hannan says the duo is thrilled with their purchase — and that's one reason they named it, with Lidiana a Spanish name meaning "happy."

"It's part of our little family," she says.

You can catch the next Giant Paella at Tower Grove Farmers Market on Tuesday, August 22 from 4 to 7 p.m. Just following your nose to the wafting aroma of saffron rice and Chorizo.

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