From May 3rd to 5th, Barcelona hosted the Relais Desserts International Spring Seminar. This prestigious association of pastry shops, founded in France with the aim of sharing passion and excellence in haute pâtisserie, boasts members worldwide, including in Spain. Now, it has arrived in Barcelona to celebrate its traditional technical and cultural gathering, with activities coordinated by the Spanish members of the group and organized by Eric Ortuño of L’Atelier.

Tea Time

One of the most special and public moments of the program is the gala tea time, where all members present a product at a spectacular buffet surrounding a vast hall. The products are organized by region: from the different departments of France to the countries where the Association has representatives, namely Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, England, the United States, Japan, and Spain.

The Spanish members took center stage as hosts of the grand gathering. They were responsible for designing the more cultural aspects of the program, including iconic visits such as the one to the nearly completed Sagrada Familia, as well as stops at restaurants, the bakeries and shops of the members themselves, and, of course, breakfast and dessert tastings during some of the meals.

One of the most impressive moments of Sunday afternoon’s gala was the corridor formed by all the member chefs. Applauding enthusiastically, all the guests walked through this corridor in a unique gesture of gratitude and a desire to share. Following this, speeches were given. Eric Ortuño, as host and general coordinator of the Barcelona seminar, conveyed words of thanks to the visiting members and the gala guests. Vincent Guerlais, president of Relais Desserts and a “taste-pumping” figure in Nantes, also expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome and the enthusiasm for learning more about a city so closely linked to creativity, art, and gastronomy.

There was particular interest in this seminar because, although Relais Desserts members visit a different city each spring, one of the patisseries belonging to the club hadn’t hosted them in Barcelona for over 25 years, making their interest in this location especially significant. Eric Ortuño was joined by Oriol Balaguer in coordinating the event, and they had the support of the other Spanish members: Raúl Bernal, Jacob Torreblanca, Daniel Álvarez, Jordi Tugues, and Miguel Moreno. During the gala, Vincent Guerlais presented a special award, the Silver Macaron, to honorary members Rafel Tugues and Paco Torreblanca in recognition of their contributions.

A diverse group of pastry chefs and culinary professionals—not only from Barcelona, ​​but also from other parts of Catalonia and Spain—didn’t want to miss the opportunity to spend the evening with renowned pastry chefs such as Pierre Hermé, Christophe Adam, and Marc Ducobu, and to enjoy live demonstrations of some of their exquisite creations, all inspired by Barcelona and Mediterranean cuisine.