A passion for the craft has allowed this family business to remain alive across several generations. Today, Inma runs the pastry shop, which has become a local landmark and has been awarded the Aragon Food Craftsmanship seal, a distinction that endorses the quality and artisanal character of its products.
ITS CENTURY-OLD HISTORY
Inma’s grandfather, Sebastián Belenguer, opened the pastry shop in 1918. “After studying pastry-making in Zaragoza, he decided to set up his own business in his hometown,” she says when discussing its beginnings.
The business was taken over by Inma’s father when he was just 18, as Sebastián died at a very young age. The third generation then entered the pastry shop with Inma. “When my parents retired, I decided to take over the business because my sisters are not involved in this,” the current owner admits.
The chocolates from this pastry shop have unique flavors. Photo: Javier Miranda
Like all businesses, they have also had to overcome countless challenges and innovate over time. “When the 2009 crisis hit, I decided to give the business a new direction and train in the world of chocolate-making,” Inma says. She therefore went to Barcelona to study and took a training course in painting, formulation and chocolate-making.
Finally, in 2017, after completing her training, she and her husband decided to open a workshop dedicated exclusively to chocolate and, above all, to gluten-free products.
CHOCOLATES IN EVERY FLAVOR
“We have been working in the world of chocolate for seven years and we focus heavily on customizing our products,” Inma says. They receive orders for chocolates with unique flavors, including oil, truffle and caviar.
They also attend various fairs and events, where they promote the products they make by hand themselves. This has led them to win numerous awards. The first came in 2018, at the Salón Gourmet in Madrid. “I think we have created our own image and, above all, what makes us unique is our consistency and the quality of the product,” she says.
THE TRADITIONAL FAVORITES THAT NEVER DISAPPEAR
Today, six people work in the pastry shop and the chocolate-making workshop. The business has grown little by little until it began receiving orders from all over Spain. “A pastry shop alone does not provide much in such a small town, where people are increasingly health-conscious and there is more and more competition,” she says when discussing the current outlook in the sector. “Not from other pastry shops, but from supermarkets selling the same products,” she adds about the competition.
“Here in Alcorisa, traditional products are what work,” Inma says, referring to the town’s customers, who remain loyal to the flavors of a lifetime, such as the tortas de alma her grandfather used to make. “People are very traditional and, even when we offer new products, they ask for ‘the usual.’”
