A buffet ready by the cooks to get proper to the guts of the matter 

The tone is ready instantly on Sunday afternoon. Even earlier than the primary conversations start, the cooks placed on their white coats and get to work. Every member brings 60 items of their very own creation, impressed by a rigorously chosen theme: Gaudí and Catalan Modernism. The result’s exceptional: a desk of honour that brings collectively, at a look, the variety of areas, methods and sensibilities that represent the richness of our affiliation. Candy and savoury bite-sized treats, confectionery, and private interpretations of an inventive motion which has itself all the time crossed borders. Earlier than the opening to the general public, the guard of honour fashioned by the pastry cooks reveals the collective pleasure that such particular moments generate. 

Exchanges between colleagues: the guts of the seminar 

Monday morning continues in a gathering room, specializing in the affiliation’s newest information. This recurring second within the lifetime of Relais Desserts can be one of the vital. It’s a time to debate the commerce, administration, switch of information and developments. We evaluate, we ask questions, we draw inspiration. Following this, on Tuesday afternoon, is a collection of small round-table discussions. This is a chance to enter extra element on the problems which are a part of on a regular basis life for these enterprise leaders, who’ve turn out to be the pastry cooks of right now. 

The companions’ showroom, which is situated on the Seasea Membership, is a distinct sort of expertise: it presents the experience and instruments that, behind the scenes, contribute to the excellence of the institutions. That is the right place for brand new discoveries, attention-grabbing conversations, and generally new collaborations. 

Tuesday morning is unquestionably the spotlight of the week for a lot of. The members go to the outlets and laboratories of their Spanish hosts. First step: Eric Ortuno’s workshop (L’Atelier), Carrer de Viladomat. The show case makes a direct impression because of its precision and coherence: pearly velvety desserts, tartlets with vibrant crimson raspberries, croissant cornets stuffed with pistachio, caramel, chocolate or mascarpone. A know-how that blends conventional baking methods with up to date pastry-making with equal ease.  

Second step: Oriol Balaguer’s pastry store, Travessera de les Corts. There, accompanied by his crew, the Barcelonian chocolatier welcomes his friends into his world. There are discussions across the marble worktops, exchanges about methods, and observations. Typically in these conditions, the main points are essentially the most significant: a gesture, a device, a approach of working that nourishes everybody’s pondering as soon as again residence. 

Barcelona as a supply of inspiration 

Between two work periods, exploring the town is an actual supply of enrichment. The guided tour of the Sagrada Familia, in small teams, is really memorable. Taking a look at Gaudí’s unfinished work, it’s unattainable not to think about pastry-making: that approach of pushing supplies to their limits, of bringing collectively the natural and the rigour, nature and geometry. It’s a vocabulary that many within the group are acquainted with. 

The dinner on the terrace on the Miramar restaurant, overlooking the ocean, beneath the lights of Barcelona, provides a distinct contact to nowadays. The tricolour collar of a Finest Craftsman of France (MOF), the chef’s white toques that stand out within the ceremony corridor, the arms round one another’s shoulders for the group picture with the palm bushes within the background: all these photographs type the portrait of an affiliation that, for a lot of a long time, has made high quality a standard language. 

Reminiscences of Barcelona 

After Wednesday morning and the ultimate breakfasts on the lodge, every member of the group leaves carrying suitcases which are slightly heavier than earlier than, stuffed with recipes mentioned, contact data exchanged, and concepts scribbled in a pocket book between two visits. As soon as once more, the Conferences in Barcelona have been rather more than only a skilled seminar. A time once we keep in mind, collectively, what unites these institutions situated in numerous components of the world: the fervour for magnificence, the love of nice meals, and that uncommon pleasure of assembly individuals who perceive, with out having to elucidate every little thing. 

Article et crédit pictures @Anne Fashauer