One of the professors arrived with a gigantic pot (it looked kind of like a wok) and all the ingredients to make lunch. While he started cooking the meat (bacon, sausage and chicken), the rest of us helped cut vegetables (peppers and onions). Eventually, they all went into the big pot together with the rice, broth and spices. Next, they have to cook over a low heat for a long time. In true Spanish fashion, we started cooking around 11:30am and didn't eat lunch until 4:30pm. But that's the idea of a perol, everything is slow, everyone helps and there's lots of time for chatting.
While this dish can be cooked inside on a normal kitchen stove, if you want to cook for a large group of people, it's really best to do it outdoors. Think about standing over a giant pot of boiling rice in a small kitchen without air conditioning at the height of summer (115 degrees Fahrenheit)... Doesn't sound too pleasant, does it? The fact that this dish can be cooked outside not only makes it fun because everyone can participate, but it also means more fresh air and less concentrated heat for the chefs, which puts them in a better mood!
