Humble snack goes gourmet in Spain

Long taken for granted as a mere bar snack, Spain's humble tapas have graduated from the neighborhood cafe to the realm of haute cuisine.

Inspired by their simplicity and versatility, top Miche-lin-starred chefs are taking on the traditional finger food to whet the appetite, or making a meal of them with tapas-only restaurants.

"Tapas used to be considered something common and almost second-rate," said Angel Moreton, head of the International School of Gastronomy in Valladolid, Spain. "But in recent years there has been a boom and now we are seeing some real marvels."