Lluc Crusellas: The pastry boom has to happen

Already hailed as the new sensation of Spanish pastry, Lluc Crusellas will launch Eukarya this autumn, coinciding with the first anniversary of his title. This complete range of chocolate products was developed in collaboration with Pavic, the company with which he has built his career in recent years.

Chocolates, tablets, dragees, nougat, Easter cakes in season… A brand with a new production center that for now will be available in different parts of Catalonia and online throughout Europe, explains 7Caníbales.

“The goal is to reach everyone with good chocolate, to be a voice for promoting quality pastry and chocolate,” Crusellas asserts. That's the purpose of winning a title like his, he argues, to ensure that good pastries reach every corner of the world. “We've done very well with cooking, but there's still a long way to go in pastry.”

The pending revolution

Leveraging the media attention generated by the award to become an advocate for quality chocolate is a key part of his plans. And the truth is, he has a lot of work ahead of him. “The chocolate you find in supermarkets is too sweet, it lacks nuance. There’s also not much understanding of this product; most people simply say they like 70% or 90% chocolate without really knowing what that means,” Crusellas points out.

It's a path reminiscent of specialty coffee, although it seems that more progress has been made in that area in recent years. Is pastry the revolution still pending after the culinary revolution and the recent resurgence of restaurant service? "It's already happening, but on a quieter scale," the chocolatier points out. "That boom has to come. You look at France and the level of pastry is incredible. Until children leave school wanting a croissant instead of a bag of sweets, a pastry revolution is still missing."

And on the list of pending tasks that Crusellas assigns to the guild, one key element stands out: believing in its value. “We go to buy a cake, it costs us 30 euros for six people and we think it’s expensive, but then in a restaurant they give you a scoop of ice cream for five euros and we think it’s normal,” he argues.

Coming soon to Barcelona

Returning to the World Chocolate Master, there's a question this young pastry chef has heard many times since winning the world championship: why stay at El Carme pastry shop in Vic and not move to Barcelona? He's very clear about it. "Leaving would have been disrespectful to the people of Vic, who have been our customers all these years and have given us the motivation and the money to achieve something like this."

The fact is that Crusellas will indeed be in Barcelona this year thanks to Eukarya chocolate. Will it be a pop-up shop or a permanent pastry shop? The format is still undecided, he clarifies. What is very clear, however, is that it will be with Pavic: “They’ve given me everything and allowed me to prepare for the championship for two years.”

It may seem like a lot, but it's actually very little, he assures. Two years in which he had to juggle work in the workshop with the national and then the world phases of the World Chocolate Masters, alongside a team made up not only of pastry chefs, but also graphic designers and architects, among others.

His experience as a professional cyclist encouraged him to approach training with a familiar approach. “The first thing I did was hire a psychologist, a nutritionist, and a personal trainer to ensure my body was at 200% for a whole year,” he explains.

On the psychological side, preparing for the competition and learning to manage pressure taught him how to face problems when things went wrong and how to spread that attitude to the rest of the team. “If they see you upset, dramatic, the project won’t work,” he says.

Sweet pastries, but with less sugar

The chocolate elephant he created for the World Chocolate Master, which can now be seen at the Museu de la Xocolata in Barcelona—there's another one in his pastry shop in Vic—is his most iconic piece. But, in reality, he had to submit half a dozen creations for the competition.

Less spectacular than the elephant, but very interesting was a sugar-free brioche that the competition's judges praised for its technical skill. “It's a project developed with the help of pastry chef David Gil, who is researching enzymes. We managed to modify the gluten structure of the flour and extract the sugars from it, without adding anything else. Furthermore, the brioche was covered in banana peel modified with other enzymes to make its fibers edible and reminiscent of apricot,” he explains.

Less sugar and better food waste are combined in a product that embodies two of the fastest-growing trends in the sector. “It can be done, but it’s still in its early stages. It’s often said that what happens at the World Chocolate Master competition only becomes visible in stores after about three years, because now we have to move from that small-scale format to large-scale production,” Crusellas points out.

Is the next step in pastry making to eliminate or reduce sugar? Yes, but no. “The future lies in modifying the sugar used in pastry. If the flour contains gluten and sweetness can be derived from it while minimizing sugar, that's one path, but without sacrificing pleasure. I'm against sugar-free pastry; it doesn't make sense. It's a pleasure. If you want sugar-free pastry, buy gelatin or an apple.”