Today: November 7, 2024
October 17, 2022
7 mins read

Grau Confectionery, a recipe to undertake successfully in Venezuela

Mercedes Grau Repostería

Mercedes Grau Confectionery
Photo: Ramses Romero

Working from eight to five in an office was not his thing. Make desserts, yes. It was another story. Mercedes Grau She had graduated as a social communicator one year when she threw a tremendous bombshell at her parents, the renowned musicians Alberto Grau and María Guinand: «I discovered my true passion. I want to make brownies and alfajores; I am going to dedicate myself to confectionery». The reaction of both was expected: doYou are crazy?; What will happen to the investment we made in your career? And all the time you invested in Communication? She remained focused: making what she imagined would be the best desserts in Caracas. “The ones we all deserve.”

That was in 2011, 11 years ago. Today, with a successful confectionery workshop and a store 9 months old on her shoulders, this Caracas native, mother, wife, dreamer and, above all, cook, can say not only that the country is full of opportunities for entrepreneurship, but also work hard on them, but following dreams ensures success.

Why the pastry?

Mercedes Grau Confectionery
Photos Ramses Romero

«The love I have for eating sweets sums it all up.”, Grau confessed without a shred of doubt. “In addition to studying to be a communicator, I also studied professionally to be a dancer and none fulfilled me as much as my passion for eating sweets or my love of making them,” she added.

Her dream was gaining strength when, when she was invited to parties, walks or meetings with family and friends, she was always the one designated to pamper palates through her sweets. “I started making them, even to give them away. I can’t describe what I felt when someone tasted them. It was a satisfaction mixed with fullness that can not be explained but felt », she detailed.

In the end, being honest with herself was the answer to her call: brownies and alfajores would be your door to success.

“I decided to start with just two recipes, but what came after became history; my story”.

His father told him, just before starting, that the one that covers a lot does not squeeze, that’s why he started with few recipes. “But in the blink of an eye I was expanding my menu and 11 years later, nothing more and nothing less, we have a store that evokes what I was reaping through my goals and objectives,” she clarified. “And I dragged my mom into the process because, believe it or not, I started making this dream come true in her house.”

Mercedes Grau Confectionery
Photo Ramses Romero

Grau Confectionery, the workshop

“I started cooking in the house where I grew up,” Grau clarified. «My mom doesn’t have a living room or a dining room because of me. What she has is a confectionery workshop with our last name headed by two stainless steel countertops and kitchen accessories hanging –and scattered– everywhere. I don’t have a room either because we turned it into a self-market type warehouse for our ingredients,” he said. In this way, the workshop functions as a space that focuses on the catering for parties, weddings or large celebrations. “We fulfill the largest orders of all our desserts, but in mini versions. The product catalog is much broader than in the store and we only work on request by pick-up either delivery».

Mercedes Grau Confectionery
Grau Store in Los Palos Grandes, Caracas | Photo Ramses Romero

Grau, the store

«He was born in December 2021 out of necessity. Not ours but of the own clientele. People kept asking me for sweets now stop now. They wanted to have immediate access to our creations,” said Grau. «That level of receptivity with the brand pushed us to open a small space that would serve for diners to leave home and have a snack as if they were in ours; with aromas and flavors that will make palates fall in love, but also their hearts».

In Grauthe store, they sell only the best sellers of the workshop.

A la carte desserts

In the workshop they prepare from shots sweets to mini pies, alfajores, brownies, Creole cheese pancakes and 20 different cakes among which the chocolate, coffee and lemon stand out, without leaving behind the famous pavlova.

Everything is made at the moment and only with the premise that it is sold the same day. “We are characterized mainly by that: by the freshness of our sweets,” Grau rescued. «In store we only have the four most popular: the alfajores, the Creole cheese pancakes, the brownies and dollies (mixture of biscuit marie, chocolate and nuts bathed in condensed milk). In addition, we sell the popular chocolate cookies and cakes by the piece, not complete as in the workshop », he pointed out. «those of chocolate caramel (super moist, layered with lots of chocolate and crushed caramel covered in more chocolate and more crushed caramel) and lemon pie, the oreo marquise and the four milk take the crown in the store. The latter is one of the best sellers due to its particularity: we use dulce de leche sprinkled on top.

Mercedes Grau Confectionery
Chococaramel cake, one of the most requested both in the workshop and in the store

Grau is not selfish. In fact, he has shared many recipes through his social networks. “There are some that are secret because all pastry chefs have our ace up our sleeves, but the rest are 100% public domain. I like to share and see how they enjoy each product I offer and how those who follow us under their tools can achieve it », she expressed.

differentiating factor

Among so many businesses that offer countless delicious desserts, Mercedes Grau feels that she has created a brand with which people have been able to connect beyond the sweet. “Here we show what we are: we love sweets and we want people to continue betting on well-executed recipes, made with love,” she stressed.

Mercedes Grau Confectionery
Mini desserts with Grau stamp

«Those of us who work in this area will always bet on what we do, but, without leaving anything inside me, our desserts are very good. They are super cool. Here you will never find one more than a day old. is our condition sine qua non», he expressed. «Those that are more than two days old, in fact, we collect them and donate them to Alimenta la Solidaridad.. Not because ‘they are old’ but because, although they are still just as tasty, they do not meet the freshness that we promise. In the workshop we also start from the same premise».

Mercedes Grau Confectionery
Freshly brewed coffees alongside the famous Grau dollies.

Entrepreneur’s Path

In principle, impostor syndrome was breathing down his neck for a long time. «The fear of failure is always latent when you decide to undertake. In addition, I was under pressure from my parents, who did not understand what was happening to me, as if it were some whim. It was hard for them to assimilate that I didn’t want to dedicate myself to communication or dancing, but At 24 years old, I didn’t even know what I liked or what would happen to my future… Until I started baking desserts»he highlighted.

As she cooked, her motivation and confidence in her work grew stronger. “Especially because I am completely self-taught. Both YouTube and pastry books were my great allies And they still are to this day.”

His biggest complication was something out of his control: the country’s economy. “The scarcity that existed a few years ago was a monster that, in some way, affected the future of all enterprises in Venezuela,” he recalled. “Between 2015 and 2019 we experienced a significant decline from which we still don’t know for sure how we came out so successful,” he commented. “Between contacts and acquaintances in other states, we banded together to get ingredients such as sugar or milk. However, we never waver. We never considered closing the kitchen; I never had to tell a client that I can’t make you dessert because I don’t have the supplies. I thank God for that,” he stressed.

Mercedes Grau Confectionery
Photo Ramses Romero

For Mercedes and her family it has been a long and bumpy road. Countless personal and emotional sacrifices have been made to get to where they are today, but it has all been worth it, she says. «To me, for example, what I like the most is cooking. There are days when I am standing from 7:00 am until 4:00 or 5:00 pm without sitting down. Always cooking. That’s part of who I am and I think it’s important that that level of commitment is reflected in every dessert we make. Swollen legs, stains on clothes, sore feet, tiredness and dark circles under the eyes; it’s all worth it in the end,” she asserted.

Does Grau see the cheese on the toast?

“The investment was made by my husband and I thinking as a family.” They are almost 4 because she is pregnant and she will soon give her 2-year-old baby a little sister. “We invested a considerable amount of money in the store, but thanks to the support of my husband everything turned out much more bearable. He is a civil engineer, but he is dedicated solely to our business; It is not only the monetary part but the emotional and personal part for both of them », he pointed out.

As for profits, “I can honestly tell you that in the months that we have been open, the receptivity has been incredible and the profit has been reflected enormously. Today, after 11 years, we can say that we live from our business»he claimed.

Currently, 18 people work in the store and 9 more in the workshop. In a word, and emphasizing that he doesn’t want to use her as a knife to his throat, Mercedes Grau considers her undertaking a success. “Something I intend to keep for many more years,” she said.

Undertake in Venezuela

For Mercedes Grau, the country is full of opportunities. “Without a doubt, in recent years many stores have closed, many people have left, but there are still spaces to grow a business,” she said. “There are many gaps that are being filled with ideas and are being translated into ventures. People want good products, they want to get out of their houses and try something good… It is what we deserve », she affirmed.

Mercedes Grau Confectionery
Creole cheese cake, one of the favorites in the store

«To everyone who asks me, I always say: don’t look at me now and think that all that happened overnight. The work has been tremendous; They have been very hard years but what I have never lacked is perseverance. There has to be confidence in what is being done. Your product is worth it and that also translates into offering a product of the best quality. You have to take care of customers through everything you do. You have to throw pigeon; relentlessly and with much love », he concluded.

spaces

  • Pastry workshop: Quinta Guadalajara, Main Avenue of La Castellana, Caracas.
  • Grau Store: 2nd Av. De Los Palos Grandes, Edif. Onuba, Caracas.
Mercedes Grau Confectionery
Photo: Ramses Romero

Schedules

Both spaces open from Monday to Monday, from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Prices

Mini desserts: from $2.5 to $5. Whole cakes are priced at $55 and each piece is $6.

Mercedes Grau Confectionery
Dollie cake, in maxi presentation.

For more information about Mercedes Grau and its businesses, enter your website or through their social networks: Instagram.

Independent journalism needs the support of its readers to continue and ensure that the uncomfortable news they don’t want you to read remains within your reach. Today, with your support, we will continue to work hard for censorship-free journalism!



Source link

Latest Posts

They celebrated "Buenos Aires Coffee Day" with a tour of historic bars - Télam
Cum at clita latine. Tation nominavi quo id. An est possit adipiscing, error tation qualisque vel te.

Categories

Boca stumbles, Racing dreams and now everything is morbid
Previous Story

Boca stumbles, Racing dreams and now everything is morbid

cromo
Next Story

Migration admits that it is very difficult to control transit for purchases in Argentina

Latest from Blog

Abinader aboga por integración regional

Abinader advocates regional integration

The president Luis Abinader This morning he led the start of the “Regional Meeting 2024, the modern challenges of politics, economy and society in Latin America” ​​at the JJ Marriott hotel. At
Go toTop