Cal Jan Pastry Shops, delighting palates since 2012
a world of authentic and surprising flavors
About us
The name Cal Jan currently brings us love for tradition, quality, innovation and… Panettone. In its short history it has the title of best Chocolate Panettone in Spain of the year 2021.
Torredembarra is a municipality in Tarragonès with about 15,000 inhabitants that historically had two Traditional Pastry Shops, as we would popularly say “renowned”, the San Jorge Pastry Shop and the Magriñà Pastry Shop. Unfortunately, these two bakeries end up closing due to lack of continuity in the family saga. At the same time, in Torredembarra we find the Cal Jan family, a name by which the family from which Rafel and Adrià come is popularly known in the municipality. The family’s renown comes from Rafel’s great-great-grandfather named Jan and who was well known in the municipality.
It all starts when Rafel’s brothers, Siscu and Jordi, have the concern at a time of economic crisis to start their own business and be able to have an alternative plan if their respective jobs are in danger. And why a pastry shop? Well, because Siscu had worked for many years, during his student days, in the two pastry shops mentioned above, and Jordi is a lover of gastronomy. This is how the Cal Jan pastry shop was born, in February 2012.
The path begins with the personal effort of Siscu and Jordi, who combined their weekly jobs with frenetic weekends at the pastry shop. It is then that Rafel goes to work during the summers, which they would call the family business, as an order boy… and thus his love for this beautiful profession is born.
In 2013, Rafel entered the Hoffman Pastry Restoration School to study as a master pastry chef and in 2016 he took the reins of the family business.
At the Hoffman Pastry School, Rafel meets Magí, a Tarragona pastry chef closely linked by family tradition to the city of Tarragona, and proposes that he join the Cal Jan project. It is in 2019 when, with Magí’s encouragement, the first jump in Tarragona opening an artisan pastry shop in the city’s new Central Market.
And we are missing Adrià, who, like Rafel, begins to work in the pastry shop as a summer reinforcement, perceives Rafel and Magí’s passion for this profession and falls in love with it, a fact that leads him to obtain the title of Pastry Chef. at the Atelier school in Barcelona.
With this young and driven team, in 2019 the Sal y Sucre space opens in Torredembarra, a cafeteria where you can quietly taste and accompanied by a good coffee all the artisan products made every day by the young master pastry chefs.
The great boost for the Cal Jan brand, the result of constant work and commitment, comes in 2021 when it wins the award for Best Chocolate Panettone in Spain. Furthermore, in 2022, Adrià wins the award for Best Pastry School Student in Spain. And in 2023 Rafel is selected to represent Spain in the World Panettone Championship held in Milan, where he achieves the Runner-up in the World for Chocolate Panettone and Third place for Traditional Panettone.
The culmination of a family project
FROM TORREDEMBARRA TO THE WORLD
Rafael Aguilera Orpinell
Born in Torredembarra (Tarragonés) in 1994, Rafa Aguilera began his career in the world of pastry as an assistant to his brothers at the family bakery Cal Jan. It was then that his passion for pastry blossomed. In 2013, he began his studies at the Hofmann school in Barcelona, with chef Eric Ortuño as a mentor. Upon completing his studies, he assumed the direction of Cal Jan.
In addition to running his own business, Rafa Aguilera stays up to date through specialized courses and shares experiences with his professional colleagues. Under the tutelage of Rolando Morandin, he began his journey to learn the art of panettone, and in 2021 won the award for Best Artisanal Chocolate Panettone in Spain. For the last three years (2020, 2021 and 2022), he has obtained the Fava de Cacao award. In 2022, he also won the Fava de Oro award for the best pastry in Camp de Tarragona and the Ebro Lands.
Adrià Aguilera Magriña
Adrià Aguilera (Torredembarra, 2003) started working at the family bakery Cal Jan during the summer. However, he soon fell in love with the profession and began his studies at L’Atelier under the tutelage of chef Eric Ortuño. In 2020, he started working full time at Cal Jan, where he was in charge of making mousses and modern pastries. Adrià combines his work with specialized courses from the most renowned chefs in the country and abroad. One of these courses was taken with Fabrizio Donatone, an Italian panettone specialist, from whom he learned new techniques and approaches to the product. In February 2022, he won the third edition of the Pastry Student Championship organized by the Spanish Confederation of Pastry Artisan Entrepreneurs (CEEAP), representing L’Atelier Pasty School.
Magí Rovira Copons
Magí Rovira, son of a family from Tarragona, (Tarragona, 1989), started at the Hoffman school in Barcelona, with the dream of starting his own restaurant business. In 2014, at the end of his training, while doing his internship, he met Rafel. After working in several restaurants, he became interested in Cal Jan’s project and joined forces with Rafel. From this moment on, Cal Jan took on a new vision. more expansive and in 2017, we opened our first store outside Torredembarra, in Taragona. Currently, Magí is in charge of creations made with chocolate, such as Easter figures, Christmas nougats… Thanks to his training, along with great professionals such as Amaury Guichon, his technique is practically excellent.
The origin of Panettone
THE TYPICAL CHRISTMAS SWEET
What is Panettone?
Panettone is an iconic Italian sweet bread that has left a significant mark on culinary culture, not only in Italy, but around the world. Its origin and rich history are as exciting as the taste of this delicious baked product. To fully understand the history of panettone, we must delve into its roots in medieval Italy and trace its evolution over the centuries. In our post we discover everything about its origins and history.