Barcelona's pastry shops face one of the strong days of the Easter campaign on the eve of Mona Day, with an offer marked by a slight price increase and by the pull of figures linked to series, trendy characters and Barça.
Miquel Zaguirre, president of the Barcelona Pastry Guild, places this year a slight price increase due to the CPI. On average, a chocolate mona costs between 40 and 80 euros, while family Easter cakes range between 30 and 40 euros.
"There is a slight price increase due to the CPI" - Miquel Zaguirre, president of the Barcelona Pastry Guild
Series, K pop and Barça among the most searched
In the shop windows and workshops, themed monas are gaining weight. Zaguirre explains that this year a mona inspired by the series Stranger Things and trendy characters like K pop are especially doing well. He also assures that the workshops have focused a lot on chocolate eggs of different sizes.
"This year a mona from the Stranger Things series and trendy characters like K pop are selling a lot" - Miquel Zaguirre, president of the Barcelona Pastry Guild
Alongside these more current proposals, the monas linked to Barça remain present, a recurring classic in the Easter campaign in the city.
The traditional mona maintains its space
The offer is not limited to molded chocolate. Among the most traditional elaborations continue the pa de pessic with jam, burnt cream and candied fruit, crowned with a chocolate egg. Also maintained are the sara-type butter mona and the classics of cream and truffle, common in many family celebrations.
Escribà nears 2,000 orders
One of the prominent names of this campaign is Christian Escribà, who this year has created a giant mona of CAT, Barça's mascot. The small versions put on sale to the public have also been in demand. The pastry chef defines the season as "a spectacular campaign" and estimates the received orders at around 2,000.
"We are juggling so that it doesn't rise much" - Christian Escribà, pastry chef
In their establishment, the prices of the monas range from 5 to 4,000 euros, depending on the format and complexity of each piece.
A Sagrada Familia of chocolate on Provença street
In the Torrons Vicens store on Provença street, 427, a giant Sagrada Familia "mona" is displayed, which can be seen all year round since 2018. Its managers state that it is not for sale, although they estimate that, if it were, its price would be 25,000 euros.
With Easter Sunday already underway, the sector reaches one of the key days of the calendar with the workshops working at full capacity between family orders, current figures and recipes that continue to pass from generation to generation.