Con las manos en la mesa. Paella y foodscape en Manuel Vázquez Montalbán

Food has become essential in a cultural studies praxis in the Hispanic world centered around research in Food Studies. Food pathways in the Hispanic world are diverse and contentious, allowing us to study how people think about food, using it to mark identities and establish power relationships. This article will examine some of these issues based on the contributions of Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, a notable food critic and novelist, who engaged with food both at the table and in his writings. The focal point is a controversial and non-existent dish, the so-called paella, about which it is concluded that perhaps it is not what we think it is and holds many surprises for readers and eaters alike.