Best Restaurant in Spain Connects Delightful Chocolate Factory To Luxury Hotel

El Celler de Can Roca, a Spanish culinary institution, was twice voted the "World's Best Restaurant" by Restaurant Magazine, adding to its three Michelin stars obtained since 2009.
While the café will close one week from now owing to the coronavirus epidemic, its new stablemate Casa Cacao is already prepared to take on the world.
Casa Cacao, as its name implies, is a world-class "place of chocolates." It is owned by the Roca brothers, who also own El Celler de Can Roca.
Casa Cacao is a bean-to-bar chocolatier located in a historic five-story building in downtown Girona that was once a hostel. It is owned and maintained by Jordi Roca, the youngest brother and current pastry chef at El Celler de Can Roca. The same structure houses Hotel Casa Cacao, a 15-room luxury boutique hotel run by Anna Payet, Joan Roca's wife.
Jordi Roca, who was named the "World's Best Pastry Chef" by William Reed Business Media in 2014, launched Casa Cacao with a trio of chocolate-centric concepts: a workshop where cocoa beans are roasted, matured, and transformed into various types of chocolate; a cafeteria where the general public can sample them; and a boutique where unusual purchases can be taken home, some of which are gently bundled in reused cocoa strands.
According to Jordi Roca, they officially import cacao beans from ranchers and networks in six distinct origins, including Peru's indigenous Awajn people, Colombia's Arhuaco people, and Venezuela's famed Hacienda Cacao Caribe ranch.
Because the staff is involved throughout the process, beginning with the production of the cocoa beans, the firm is able to regulate the cocoa's accents and nuances, bringing out its corrosiveness, fruitiness, and nuttiness for each customer.
The proprietor feels that premium chocolate should neither be too sweet or very bitter, nor should it be black or white. Rather than that, chocolate should be a kaleidoscope of hues showcasing the many flavours of authentic cocoa derived from a variety of locales.
The wonderful bean-to-bar concept offers six milk-based chocolate products (three made with bovine milk, two with sheep milk, and one with goat milk) and two claim-to-fame chocolate products — one made with cocoa beans soaked in Macallan Double Cask whiskey and another with tangerine and licorice.
Additionally, customers may purchase seasonal premium chocolates, spreadable creams, hot and cold chocolate drinks, and pastries such as fartons, pain au chocolat, and xuixos, the latter of which is a deep-fried Girona speciality filled with crème catalana.
This stunning premium boutique hotel has 12 junior rooms (dubbed Cacao Beans) and three suites (dubbed Cacao Origins), all of which have been adorned with handcrafted wooden and marble objects by creative artisans. The heated ground surface is concealed behind fleece floor covers manufactured with care in Girona, while the dividers are a sand-finished surface reminiscent of a Zen garden. To provide maximum comfort, mattresses are outfitted with Catalan-made 500-string natural cotton.Casa Cacao shares its ground floor space with the conference room of Hotel Casa Cacao, which is operated by Jordi's sister-in-law Payet.
The intriguing interiors by Spanish interior design company Sandra Tarruella Interiors — who also designed the Roca siblings' favourite Girona ice creamery Rocambolesc in 2012 — accentuate the flavour of this superb premium chocolate. Payet has created an environment that reflects the natural hues of cacao beans at different stages of growth. As a result, the interiors are a vibrant combination of mustard yellow tints, earthy tones, and beige with a hint of green, all of which speak to the cocoa trees.The proprietors designed the rooftop terrace as an exclusive area for hotel guests to enjoy a leisurely breakfast of locally made goods, including mouth-watering premium chocolates, while soaking in the delights of Girona's ancient city.