Easter eggs with a twist: Master chocolatier Lluc Crusellas' 'mones de Pasqua' 

Forget Easter eggs. In Catalonia, the mona de Pasqua is the seasonal chocolate treat of choice.  

What began as a simple sponge cake topped with boiled eggs has transformed today into a canvas for creativity – elaborate chocolate mini-masterpieces where pastry chefs can show off their skills and innovations. 

And they don't come much more skilled and innovative than Lluc Crusellas, winner of the prestigious World Chocolate Masters in 2022, aged just 26.   

Mona memories 

Growing up in Santa Eulàlia de Riuprimer, a small village near Vic in central Catalonia, Crusellas was immersed in Catalonia's rich pastry and chocolate culture from an early age. 

"In Catalonia there are a lot of traditions around pastry and chocolates and one of these is Easter season," Crusellas tells Catalan News. 

"In every house, for Easter Sunday lunch, families celebrate with this little chocolate showpiece," he says, referring to the mona de Pasqua. 

"I think this is the beginning of my passion for chocolate." 

It wasn't just the taste that drew the young Lluc to a career in chocolate, but its possibilities for bringing people together. 

"When you think of pastries, of chocolate, you think of fun, of celebration, family and friends," he says, "and for me, that's the best way to create a product."

World's best 

Crusellas' professional journey into the world of patisserie began at 17 when he joined the team of Catalan Michelin-starred chef Nandu Jubany. 

After honing his craft in Barcelona at the Escola Espai Sucre, the Hofmann School and La Pastisseria, he returned to his roots in Vic and took the reins as the main pastry chef at El Carme Pastisseria, aged 21. 

By 2022, at the age of 26, he won the prestigious World Chocolate Masters in Paris, an achievement that solidified his place among the world's top chocolatiers.  

His three-meter-tall 200-kilogram chocolate elephant standing on scorched Earth was the most eye-catching work over the three days of competition. 

Eukarya 

Crusellas' success in Paris paved the way for him to embark on a new venture. 

"It was a big moment and one I think that changed my life and my career," he says, "an opportunity to create my company, to have new projects and new things." 

And so, in 2023, he opened Eukarya, a chocolate brand, shop and workshop in Vic that combines traditional techniques with the latest technology, like 3D printing, to create innovative new products. 

Easter egg with a twist 

For Crusellas, innovation doesn’t mean abandoning tradition, as his mones de Pasqua prove. 

"We always start with the Easter egg, but from there, we want to give it a twist." 

The mones at Eukarya this year have a distinct animal theme, with playful designs featuring the likes of foxes, ducks, pigs, hens and chicks. 

"We're really happy to make this kind of mona, which is tasteful but with special touches, and that can be for everyone – children, young people and adults." 

It's a bold move when most pastry shops are filled with mones of Barça players, video game characters, superheroes and Disney princesses.  

Price of cacao  

One of the biggest challenges facing the chocolate industry right now is the skyrocketing price of raw materials.  

In the last two years, the price of cacao has increased sixfold, reaching around €12 per kilogram, according to the Barcelona Pastry Guild.  

Storms and extreme heatwaves in Ghana and Ivory Coast, the two African countries responsible for more than half of the world's cocoa production, is one of the key factors behind the sudden rise in prices. 

"Cocoa prices have really gone up," Crusellas says. "It's not a good thing, but for artisan chocolatiers, it’s an opportunity to make chocolate a better product." 

While the prices of his mones de Pasqua have "risen slightly," Crusellas is committed to keeping them "as reasonable as possible." 

"We've had to absorb part of this increase ourselves because what we really want is for people to be able to enjoy their mona," he explains. 

"Easter is a time to reward the customers who always come to buy from us, to say, 'Alright, here's your mona de Pasqua, this is your reward.'"