The city of Albany, in upstate New York, recently added a new Spanish locale to its bustling food and cultural scene. La Centralita, as it's called, is very much a passion project thanks to its founders, one American and one from Spain. Different from a restaurant, La Centralita seeks to be a culinary studio for food-related activities, such as cooking classes, chef's table meals, cultural immersion activities revolving around different Spanish cuisines, and tastings.
The owners describe this culinary studio as a "pedagogical concept," according to timesunion.com, where food is used as a way to teach people about culture and history, and literature, music and films are regularly combined with cooking classes as a way to teach participants about Spain. Activities are designed to be participatory and immersive.