At the beginning ofCream!(ColumnIn her memoirs, Maria Nicolau (La Garriga, 1982), a chef and writer, recalls that as a young woman, she understood cooking as a form of craftsmanship, a job done with the hands. Far from the catastrophists who predict the end of Catalan cuisine, and championing the complexity and sophistication of everyday cooking, Nicolau has established herself as one of the most important voices in contemporary gastronomic discourse. However, her life's journey also includes travels through several cities. In her memoirs, she explains that she chose La Rioja, not Segovia, to learn about wine.