The new sensation in the Madrid neighborhood of Acacias smells of bread from early in the morning.
It's called Clan Obrador (Gasómetro, 11) and behind it is Nuño García, a 40-year-old confectioner and baker who, after passing through important kitchens in Spain and Asia, has decided to put all his experience into his own business where he makes excellent buns, artisan breads and pastries for the residents of the area.
His was not something vocational.
“I was a
loose cannon
.
When I was 16 years old they gave me an ultimatum at home to do something with my life and I got into a small hotel school in Guadalajara, the city where I grew up, ”she recalls.
When he finished his studies he went to Catalonia, where he spent nine years working in places such as the Escribà pastry shop and Oriol Balaguer's.
He was a pastry chef at Miramar, Paco Pérez's two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Girona;
in the gastronomic Lasarte of Martín Berasategui, and in the Dos Cielos of the Torres brothers in Barcelona.
From there he jumped to grand hotels in Singapore, Bali, Thailand and New Zealand and won the prestigious San Pellegrino award for Asia's best pastry chef in 2015.
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“Then I returned to Madrid.
I saw a
boom was taking place
around sourdough in bakery and I started working as a consultant for restaurants, schools and bakeries”, he explains.
He then gave guidance on menu changes, production processes, gave training in bakery and they began to sign brands related to his activity while his followers on Instagram grew.
“That's when I realized that if I could get people to do well, it was time to start my own business,” he says.
A year ago, together with his brother Gonzalo, he began to design what Clan Obrador would be: a high-quality neighborhood bakery with a large work space open to the public.
“I like that the workshop is visible to the neighbors, that people see that we are artisans.
We have nothing to hide in our processes, cleanliness and order.”
Sweet specialties with puff pastry from Clan Obrador, in Madrid, where the flavored cruffins stand out. Almudena Ávalos
In the store space there is a showcase with the sweet creations and, on a metal shelf, their breads rest.
They do it for a short time because before three in the afternoon Nuño says that most days he has everything sold.
“The idea is that the people of the neighborhood can have a traditional traditional bar, but made with sourdough and at a good price (1.30 euros)”, he says.
In addition, with fermentation for at least 24 hours, it makes loaves with a mixture of stone-ground Galician, wholemeal and white flours (4.20 euros), classic sliced bread,
baguettes
(1.60 euros) and delicious madeleines (0. 50 euros each) which are rightly very successful.
“Although my
background
It is haute cuisine. I love making muffins because they are a wonderful and very everyday artisan product”, he adds.
Artisan cupcakes from Clan Obrador, by Nuño García, in Madrid. Almudena Ávalos
In the sweet part, the
cruffins
attract attention .
They are made of croissant dough in a
muffin
mold , filled with exclusive creams that they create in the workshop and seasoned with natural ingredients such as blueberries, strawberries or nuts.
The pistachio cruffin
stands out
with a pastry cream with praline of the same dried fruit (2.50 euros) and the
gianduia
croissant , a mixture of hazelnut praline and milk chocolate (2.20 euros).
In both fillings they embroider the flavor and achieve a creaminess that contrasts with the crunchy dough.
“With my career, it is better for me that my creams are good”, says Nuño between laughs.
Do not miss out on trying the traditional
pastéis de Belém
(1.20 euros).
“I learned how to make them in Portugal.
A lot of customers say they're better than the ones over there, but I think it's because we use butter and a good vanilla instead of margarine,” she says.
Pastéis de Belém are some of the specialties of Clan Obrador, in Madrid.Almudena Ávalos
In the workshop, in addition to his brother, his cousin also works.
“We are a family with the same goal: to do things well, simply and with no more pretensions than creating delicious bread and pastries for the people of the neighbourhood.
I run away from everything that happens in some places where prices shoot up.
Here we contain them to democratize these products.
I have worked in many luxury establishments and I don't want to do things for a special occasion but for the day to day”, he says.
Clan Obrador opens from Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 15:00 and, due to the size of its work areas, Nuño's idea is to train new people and grow.
The first step is already given.