The workshop of the Mervier Canal pastry shop on Calvet Street in Barcelona caught fire on Friday night, likely due to a problem with the electrical panel. It was 4:00 a.m. when a neighbor alerted the fire department after smelling smoke. "He was awake and noticed it immediately, the smell," says Lluís Estrada of the Canal pastry shop, adding that the tragedy came during the worst week and the worst month of the year.

If we had to give a technical definition of the croissants from the Canal bakery in Barcelona (with workshops on Calvet and Muntaner streets), we would say they have nine ingredients: flour, yeast, sugar, salt, honey, eggs, powdered milk, water, and butter; they are baked in two batches, at 7 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and they have up to six turns of the fermented dough, rolled in on itself, ending in the characteristic final ridge. Each piece costs 2.20 euros, and the price will not increase today despite the fact that they are the most awarded croissants in the history of the competition organized by the Barcelona Pastry Guild.

The best artisan butter croissant in Spain is made by the Canal bakery, with workshops on Calvet and Muntaner streets in Barcelona. This was decided by the jury of the Best Croissant in Spain competition, organized by the Barcelona Pastry Guild. The winning pastry chef, Toni Vera, is not winning the competition for the first time; this year, he makes it four times. He managed to become the best in 2016, 2019, and 2022: that is, every three years he has managed to rise to number 1. "Our croissant is a team effort," the pastry chef emphasized when collecting the award, referring to all the workers at the Canal bakery, who...

The Pastry School of the Barcelona Guild celebrated the 50th anniversary of the birth of the teachings intended to pass on the trade to the children of its members at Barcelona's Borne Market. "For 20 years, only children could enroll in the school, but it was later extended to active, unionized workers, and later, scholarships were created," explains Saray Ruiz, director of the Pastry School. It's difficult to summarize fifty years, but the goals the school emphasizes are some of the most important. There are many more that we reviewed at the school with her and also with Olivier Fernández, manager of the Pastry School.

Barcelona is in love with its croissants. The Best Croissant competition, organised by the Barcelona Pastry Guild, has probably helped, but so has the skill of master pastry chefs who have opened new establishments and have put effort and ingenuity into making croissants. In addition, Barcelona has shown that not everything has been invented when it comes to making a croissant, so new shapes (conical, like those proposed by L'Atelier Barcelona) and also innovative fillings have raised the sweet to very high levels of excellence. So, what is Paris doing at the moment with its icon of pastry? Is the quality of its croissants above that of Barcelona?