Aleix Cánovas Riudavets, aged 24, is the son and grandson of cake makers. He learned from a very young age to love the trade which he now continues through the family dynasty at Ca na Maru. With tradition, creativity and innovation as his ingredients, he won the competition "El Dolç Talaiòtic" with a small cake which evokes the fresh, rocky landscape of Talayotic Menorca with every bite: almonds, lemon, local honey, figs and rosemary are the star ingredients.
Having trained as a chef at Barcelona's CETT, the lead university institution in the Tourism, Hospitality and Gastronomy sector, associated with Barcelona University, he spent time in the prestigious kitchens of Torralbenc and Santa Ponça, without ever neglecting the family bakery. A chef with a musical spirit (he is the drummer of Ses Bísties de Mongofre), who we will undoubtedly hear more of.
- Despite your youth, you already have plenty of culinary experience. Where did your passion for gastronomy come from?
I have been surrounded by baking all life, as my grandmother founded Ca na Maru and my mother continued the tradition. I breathed it all in from a young age. I always used to go to the bakery to spend time there, at home the conversation would be about cakes… And so I gradually learned the trade almost without realising. I have always really liked the whole business of baking and cuisine, as well as music. As I wasn't much of an academic, I decided to study cooking - intermediate level vocational training first in Ciutadella, and then advanced level at the CETT in Barcelona.
It is a job that really takes it out of you, but also gives you so much satisfaction. Taking a seasonal ingredient from your kitchen garden, cooking it and seeing how much diners enjoy it is priceless for me. I don't just enjoy the process of cooking, I also like to look after the kitchen garden and harvest my own ingredients.
- And how do you combine cooking with the family business?
Well, for the moment what I do is that during the high season, I work at small rural hotels. I spent four seasons at Torralbenc, where I started out as a kitchen assistant and ended up as chef de partie, and this year I was at Santa Ponça. In the winter I love coming back to Ca na Maru, working with my family in the bakery. There is always plenty of work to do in the build-up to Christmas, and so I lend a hand.
- Your cake was the favourite of the “El Dolç Talaiòtic” jury. How did you set about creating it?
It was my mother who gave me the opportunity to represent the family firm in the competition, and I spent all summer thinking about what we could do. In the end, bearing in mind that it had small and easily transportable, I decided that a little cake was the best option. The end result was this sponge cake glazed with white chocolate, and with almond, lemon, local honey, figs and rosemary.
- And what inspired you to choose those ingredients?
As it had to be a dessert inspired by Talayotic Menorca, the first thing I did was to look for ingredients from the island. At Santa Ponça we had a fig tree right alongside the kitchen, and one day I had an idea that I could do something with figs. Figat is a really traditional fig jam from Menorca. And then rosemary is one of my favourite herbs, and is also a plant that grows wild throughout the island, and I'm sure already existed in the Talayotic era. I included lemon because we always add a touch of lemon to our produce at Ca na Maru, and they are also home-grown, from the lemon tree we have at the bakery, which is laden with fruit every year.
The natural landscape of Menorca is a vital element of the World Heritage nomination, and so I felt that all these ingredients evoked the fresh, rocky countryside of Menorca, a landscape which still remains more or less just as our prehistoric ancestors experienced it. And to give it the final touch, the peanut crunch topping recalls the Talayotic stones, as does the whitish colour of the chocolate glaze.
- So what are the next steps from here?
Well, we are really delighted and satisfied to be representing Talayotic Menorca with this cake. We now need to set about producing and marketing it. The recipe already belongs to the APAME, and all the bakeries on Menorca that want to make it. I hope people really like it, and that everyone has the chance to try a little bit of our island.