The butcher shop of Figueres and Cadaqués that sells 500 kilos of sobrassada in a summer

CadaquésWe are facing one of the great families that produce wines, cured meats, cheeses, honey, and eggs from Empordà: Serraplà, with butcher shops in Figueres, Cadaqués, Besalú, and Palau-saverdera. Serraplà is the union of the Serra and Pla couple, who had three sons: Josep, Lluís, and Jordi. Each one is dedicated to a different branch of the family business. Josep, to the production of wines and cheeses; Lluís, to the design of labels; and Jordi, to sales, behind the counter of the shops. The one we are interviewing is Jordi, on a Monday in August, at the butcher shop in Cadaqués, located in the old town, which previously belonged to the Vehí family of the town.

Let's enter, then, Serraplà in Cadaqués, and there we find a sample of everything: cured meats, meats, cheeses, and wines. I'll start with the cured meats, especially the sobrassada, which is what impresses you as soon as you enter. It weighs a hundred kilos, and they make it with horse intestine. They sell it in pieces, vacuum-packed, and in one summer, Jordi says they sell five hundred kilos. It's not the main attraction, but one more along with the cured meats: fuets, llonganisses, loin, loin head. “In the summer, we sell a lot especially, and we've also noticed how people's customs have changed, because in the past, when my father was behind the counter, more meat was sold,” says Jordi. With cured meats, what has happened during the generational change of the Serraplà business is that they sell more to prepare dinners and also as an item to take as a souvenir of the visit to the town. “We find many passers-by who buy them, especially in Cadaqués, because we are located in the middle of the old town,” next to the shop with red shutters El Colmado, which has gone viral after Estrella Damm's summer advertisement.

The cheeses, with creative names

Cheeses deserve a great mention. They are unmistakable by the names they have: El Tossut, el Cornut, el Borratxo, el Menut, el Cunyat. All of them are goat, cured, tender, and semi-cured, and there are also recuits. You will recognize them because on the wrapper you will find that asterisk, which is the house's design, which is also on the wine labels. Those who enjoy eating cheeses and wines will be well served at Serraplà.

And since we have talked about wines, let's now turn our attention to them. Josep is in charge, and the winery is located in another town in the Alt Empordà, in Mollet de Peralada. You will find them for all tastes, and with the beloved varieties of the DO Empordà: carinyena and garnatxa. At the La Vinyeta winery, the wines are distributed into three categories: origin, stone, and tradition, and each one has different wines. Also sweet wines and micro-vinifications. All are highly recommended, but if we have to choose two, I'll go with Llavors, which have always had the most striking labels, like the ones they made during the 'Procés', when they put photographs of the massive demonstrations in the street.

Among the final curiosities about the Serraplà family, Jordi explains that the parents started in 1978, and they opened the Cadaqués shop in 1990, the same year Jordi was born, meaning thirty-six years ago. Another curiosity: the casing for the sobrassada is horse, but there have also been years when they made it from cow, and they sew it by hand. It tastes very good, not very spicy, and in Cadaqués, the neighbors serve it on small slices of bread with honey on top.