The legendary Viader Farm burning has a secure future.

Everything has changed at Granja Viader so that everything can stay the same. If a few months ago theNOW WE EAT wrote that the legendary cream might not have any relief after two years., now it's not like that anymore. "My eldest son, Marc Espuny Casademunt, after reading the news you wrote me, told me that he would like to stay in Viader," explains Mercè one summer afternoon while serving cold cacaolados with whipped cream, one of the preparations that customers most request when it's hot. "Hot chocolate is also requested, but it's more often tourists who want to eat what I call the pack whole, which consists of a Swiss, some churros and a cream".

This week a representative of the Barcelona City Council visited her to tell her that they were saddened by the closure. "It's normal, many people assumed it was closing," continues Mercè. This August, on the 11th, she turns 66. publish the ARA MENGEM article, they had not expressed that they would want to work at Viader. Korea and Canada to take, because they have read that Viader is where she was born, all true."

It so happens that the eldest son, Marc, had worked at Viader for fifteen years. "Look at that wall, I have a photograph of him here." But one day Marc told his mother he wanted to visit other establishments, always related to the hospitality industry. And that's how it ended. The youngest son, Jaume, is a secondary school teacher at a high school in Altafulla.

During the time Marc worked with his mother, some changes were implemented that have lasted. "She made organizational changes and also introduced pastries, which are very popular, because there are many cultures that like to eat a slice of cake for breakfast and a snack," Mercè points out. Today, the assortment of pastries of all kinds is still on the bulk sales counter. Some are made by Mercè, using her recipe; others, by Marc. "We have all the recipes well written down, with their specific ingredients so they come out well." If you were to tell us the recipes, we'd need some specific ingredients that only Granja Viader has. What would you say? Mallorcan milk, a recipe from La Mercè's grandmother, prepared with milk, cinnamon, and lemon, and which she started making after a trip to Mallorca, where she first tasted it. Previous generations were key: "My great-grandfather was visionary in wanting to acquire the establishment where he worked, which is the great Viader today, and then so was my grandmother, because when she brought this recipe from Mallorca to Barcelona, no one knew it in our country."

In the summer, three hundred people a day

Granja Viader, then, isn't being transferred. Its future is secure. "I'm sure my son will make changes when he's there, but for now, I still have two years left," says Mercè, whose daily habit is to count how many people enter the farm. "In the summer, between 300 and 400 people; in the winter, especially when it's very cold, up to 1,000 people, although that's a very high figure. On an average winter day, it's 800." This figure refers to the people who sit at the tables for a drink. It's a different story for those who come in to buy local products at the counter: sausages, sausages, cheeses, grandmother's flan, cottage cheese flan, creams, chocolate cake with ensaimada, Catalan cream mousse cake, and sponge cakes, and many other products, all always from Catalan brands. And since we're talking about Catalan, the customer service staff does so in Catalan. "I emphasize this because it's important to me that the waiter knows the customers and speaks Catalan," he explains. In the kitchen, he employs migrant workers, as Mercè tells us she collaborates with the neighborhood association Impulsa, which provides opportunities for immigrants at risk of social exclusion. "I have workers from the Ivory Coast and Ukraine, and I can tell they like the work because they come home happy," Mercè points out, adding that the good hours and weekly rest on Sundays and Mondays help keep the staff happy at Granja Viader. "We'll be closed in August, from the 8th to the 27th, and that way we all get a break, which I think is the easiest solution," Mercè comments.

Finally, I ask about the average bill people spend at the farm. "It's less than ten euros; for example, a slice of cake and a soft drink costs six euros." For tourists, this average bill is worth a fortune. "In the early mornings, we have foreigners staying in the surrounding hotels who come to our house for breakfast." This fact, having hotels nearby, benefits her because the local customers are working, and if not, they would be hours off work. In the past, when people went down to La Boqueria to shop at the market, there was a lot of traffic from those stopping for breakfast or finishing their shopping with some products from their farm. And Mercè happily explains all this. Mother and eldest son are now explaining to everyone that the chocolate and chocolate from Granja Viader have a long history on Barcelona's Calle de Xuclà.