Barcelona has the best croissant in the State again: it is made by the Morreig pastry shop

BarcelonaPastry chef Matthieu Atzenhoffer, from the Morreig bakery in Barcelona, at 25 Verdi Street, is euphoric: he has just been crowned winner of the award for the best croissant in the country, organized by the Barcelona Pastry Guild. "I didn't expect it at all," he confesses.

His surprise stems from the number of participants in the contest, which this year totaled 59. "I have been a judge in other competitions and I know how difficult the selection is," he explains, humbly. In fact, when we asked him if we could go buy croissants to taste them this afternoon, the pastry chef surprised everyone by saying no: the bakery does not open on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, because those are his two days off. "I will make more on Thursday, and my colleagues have warned me to get ready, because the impact of the contest is great and, therefore, they tell me there will be a lot of demand," he assured.

Born in Haguenau (Alsace), the pastry chef, together with his partners, chose the name Morreig for his establishment for its meaning: to kiss; he liked the concept of kissing the sweets he prepares. "I make thirty croissants every day, which I sell for two euros, but the pastry chefs who have won the award in other editions tell me that they have managed to sell two thousand in a single working day," he relates. "We won't be able to do that, because we have a small workshop and because I focus my effort on quality, not quantity," the pastry chef continues, wearing a casual t-shirt on the day of the contest. It is clear that it is his day off, because he usually wears a white, chef-style jacket with a Mao collar, which features the colors of the French flag, and this is because Matthieu Atzenhoffer holds the most prestigious French master craftsman title. He studied hard to achieve it, and in 2019 it was awarded to him by the Minister of Labor and the President of France at an official reception held by the government at the Sorbonne University. For the pastry chef, the title is a source of pride, hence his official attire for working in the Morreig workshop.

Regarding the croissant recipe, the steps followed are the usual ones. “I only changed the baking time, because the humidity of these rainy days harms the croissant dough, and therefore I extended it; this way I managed to make it crispier on the outside, and softer on the inside”. Other secrets of the preparation, which the pastry chef recounted without hesitation, is the brand of butter he uses. In fact, in Paris and in France in general it is very common for pastry shops to indicate the brand of butter they use next to the price. “My butter is Lescure, which has a protected designation of origin”, he stressed and then added that the minimum fermentation of the croissant is twenty-four hours.

Two euros per croissant until now

The winning croissant was sold until now for two euros, and the pastry chef had not yet considered whether he would increase the price. “I don't know”. Everything was unexpected for Morreig, who did not even want to change the public holidays.

To continue, the award for the best croissant is not the first that the Morreig pastry shop has received since it opened in 2023. In 2024 it won the award for the best Sant Joan coca, and even then he explained that he wanted to specialize the workshop in viennoiserie and ice cream. In addition to croissants, with the dough he also prepares pain au chocolat, which are also some of the most recommended in Catalonia.

Last year, the award for the best croissant was won by the Marvier-Canal pastry shop, which was the fourth time they had achieved it. Pastry chef Toni Vera recounted how they had won the award every three years. This year Vera has been part of the competition's jury, together with other pastry chefs and specialists.