How's easter like at escribà?

I think Easter is the best time of the year for pastry chefs, particularly for those who are Catalan. Many people are involved in the process. How do we manage? Xavi and I are the ones who look for the characters, what we think is going to be trendy. Dani takes care of the technical part and then it comes down to organising the production team, each one of them making a series of pieces.

Escribà's monas are well-known for their uniqueness.

In the end, creativity is one of the virtues and engines that make businesses fully functional and allow them to evolve, whether it’s in the pastry industry or any other field. And that is why we can be very proud of the work that’s done this season.

How does a creative idea transform into a real mona?

The idea comes from a Brainstorming session, and then I’m the one who interprets it. I apply a ‘reality filter’ to see whether it can be done or not. Then, I make some samples of what we can work with, not only from a production but also an artistic point of view, to finally present them and receive feedback and an approval.

How many monas do you usually prepare for the Easter campaign at Escribà?

At Escribà we prioritise variety over quantity. We have a collection of 35 different monas, so we prepare a limited number of products, usually also depending on the current trend. If something’s all the rage we might prepare 20 or 30 duplicates of the same piece, and if it’s something more common we make 10 or 15.

Do you aspire to produce more and more monas?

Our goal is not to fill every shop's window like a factory would. We seek for the most artistic, original and creative part.

When it comes to logistics and materials, what is the volume of chocolate used for the Easter campaign?

In Easter, our biggest chocolate campaign, our chocolate demand increases massively. Instead of using approximately ( and depending on the amount of requests) 300 kg of chocolate per month, we use two tons. Organisation and logistics is rather complex when we receive these two tons of chocolate. It means having to think some weeks earlier of a place to store all this stock with an adequate temperature and humidity level to maintain the same level of quality. Thanks to Chocovic we can receive the chocolate little by little, as agreed. It’s not necessary storing two or three tons at once, we can receive every 5 or 10 days about 500 kg; a practical way of rotating the chocolate stock.

And when it comes to staff?

Usually there’s an increase of staff during the Easter campaign to achieve a higher production. There’s a significant amount of stage staff, who love making Easter pieces because it’s a beautiful and artistic work.

You're responsible of uniting the creative and the productive parts of Escribà. What is it like being in your position?

My position, which is standing right between creativity and productivity, is like being at the edge of a sword. You have to maintain your balance and please everyone, keeping in mind that at the end the client’s satisfaction is the most important part of it.

How do you decide the themes of the monas?

At Escribà we approach projects such as Easter creating a fictitious customer. There’s not a real customer until they don’t purchase the mona personally, so we have to get ahead and analyse the trends and what’s all the rage that season, and design the specific pieces with Christian. The project is then handed to Dani and he turns them into chocolate.

How do you make the monas?

One of Escribà’s values is craftsmanship. We’re able to create everything we do because it’s all handmade. You have to give that its worth and value. In order to do so, in Easter we number each and every piece. They're one-of-a-kind type of pieces that are not made on a large scale, we're talking about maybe 10 or 15 copies of one design. Even when they’re made in the same series they're not exactly the same, there’s always a different detail. That's very important and has to be transmitted to the customer for them to give the pieces their very true value. Usually Escribà presents special creations to celebrate Easter, Christmas and other holidays.

What do all these big pieces mean to you?

Making what we call a ‘display’ piece is not only a tribute to all of our clients, but also a chance for them to see that craftsmanship allow us to make anything, and that’s an incentive for future requests, whether it is for Easter or any other season. It also is an appeal for the media. Making something special and spectacular is a magnet to mass media and due to the wide coverage of Easter, the Escribà patisserie... and also the rest of the chocolate tradition of Catalonia receive a lot of interest.