Jaume Margenat Casellas, historic pastry chef from Salt, has died at 88 years old. For decades he was at the helm of Pastisseria Margenat, the family business on Abat Oliba avenue, one of the most recognizable establishments in the municipality and linked for generations to the commercial and social life of the town.
Margenat represented the second generation of a pastry saga started by his father, Lluís Margenat, who opened the workshop in 1929 with the name Forn Sant Lluís, at the same spot where the premises remain open today. During the Civil War, the establishment was renamed Pastisseria Margenat, a name that has endured to the present day.
A bakery with almost a century of history
Pastisseria Margenat remains in the hands of the family and is currently run by his son, Robert Margenat. If the business maintains its activity, it will reach its centenary in 2029. Over the years, the premises grew and the company also opened a cafeteria on Major Street in Salt, which remained in operation until 2004.
Among the most distinctive products of the establishment, the xuixo stood out, linked to a family recipe. The origin of the trade in the family dates back to the founder, Lluís Margenat, who had trained at Pastisseria Puig in Girona before opening his own business in Salt.
A few months ago, the City Council distinguished Pastisseria Margenat as one of the iconic establishments of the municipality within a recognition for businesses with more than half a century of history.
Artistic vocation beyond the workshop
In addition to his dedication to pastry-making, Jaume Margenat developed a very marked artistic facet. As a young man, he obtained a scholarship to study Fine Arts in Madrid and especially cultivated painting on black velvet, with compositions based on plays of light. He also excelled in the creation of artistic nativity scenes, a discipline in which he won awards in Girona.
His name appears among the award winners of the 34th Arcàngel de la Catedral Nativity Scene Contest, corresponding to 2023, in the artistic category. In the family home in Llorà, he set up every year displays often inspired by landscapes of the Llémena valley.
During military service in the Navy he spent a period in Hawaii, an experience that, according to the family, left its mark on him and that later reappeared in part of his pictorial work.
Volunteering in recent years
Already retired, Margenat also collaborated as a volunteer in the pilgrimages to Lourdes organized by the Hospitalitat de la Mare de Déu de Lourdes of the Diocese of Girona. He maintained this involvement until the death of his wife, Dolors Luque, in 2018.
With his passing, Salt loses a figure closely linked to one of its historic businesses. His career remains linked both to the continuity of Pastisseria Margenat as well as to a creative and personal activity that left its mark inside and outside the municipality.