It's become a tradition, like the Christmas lights being switched on or the crowds waiting for Black Friday deals. When the Gastronomic Forum of Barcelona arrives, so does the competition to find out where to find the best classic fruit panettone and the best chocolate panettone. This year, the winners were Cal Jan in Torredembarra for the chocolate panettone (which they also won in 2021). Rafel and Adrià Aguilera (uncle and nephew) accepted the award. According to Rafel Aguilera, it's good news because they have "payroll to pay and it's a reward for the work we do and for the artisanal work," and he wanted to remind everyone that "panettone is unforgiving," referring to the difficulty of making a good one. Cal Jan was founded in 2012 by brothers Rafel, Siscu, and Jordi Aguilera. In 2021, they won the same competition, and two years later, Adrià Aguilera was selected to represent Spain at the World Panettone Championship held in Milan, where he won second place for his chocolate panettone and third place for the traditional one. Regarding the fruit panettone, the prize went to Oriol Carrió and his two pastry shops in Barcelona (on Bailén and Provença streets, and soon a bakery in Sagrada Família). Oriol Carrió, along with his sister Anna, are second-generation pastry chefs and staunch advocates of innovation based on Catalan pastry tradition. They were the deserved winners among the 40 entries in each category. A professional jury

The jury began deliberating this morning and took into account the flavor as well as factors such as the aroma, the structure of the pier, the appearance of the glaze, and the shape. Last year's winner, and therefore this year's winner was Toni Vera from the Canal pastry shop on Muntaner i Calvet street, and therefore could not participate as a contestant but as a judge.who just won the competition for best butter croissantand Felipe de Santa Cruz for the Madeleine by Ferrieres pastry shop on Llull Street, in the chocolate category. Both are located in Barcelona. Besides these two pastry chefs, the rest of the professional jury included baker Ibán Yarza and pastry chef Ramón Morante, as well as chefs Sergio and Javier Torres, among others. According to one jury member, "this year there was a very high level of quality, but also some panettone with too much vanilla," referring to a proportion that wasn't quite right.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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