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Last weekend, the day dawned sunny and in the Real de Morata de Tajuña Pastelería they knew what that meant.
"We
sold 2,000 kilos of chocolate chips,
" explains Marisa Real, 61 years old.
They are the sweet claim of this Madrid town of 8,000 inhabitants that has spread like wildfire through half of Spain.
"October to April is our peak season."
The queues at the door of their premises are common.
"When the town was confined,
the Civil Guard had to come on weekends to break up the line
. You couldn't enter Morata but there were those who sneaked in," he recalls.
Only local residents could buy.
"We have had a bad time, because we are already 11 people working and only with this we were not enough to cover expenses."
Now things are going up "very well": "A day we make about 100 kg (17 palms go into one kilo) and there are not enough".
What is the secret of the palm trees of this town located 30 km from the capital: "
That they are soaked in syrup and this makes them soft
", explains Marisa, "we make our puff pastry here and also the chocolate with which we coat them we make it by hand ".
When he started making the palmeritas with his sister María Elena, his father Patrocinio, who opened the bakery in 1958, did not give a penny for the idea.
"When he retired in the 90s, we just kept doing our thing."
They were advised to patent the palmeritas, but the issue was not easy.
"They explained to us that in a product like this it was difficult to have a control", says Marisa.
They do not sell 'online', nor do they consider it for the moment, but they accept orders that are sent by courier to all of Spain.
"We are also in Carrefour", the only large area with which they have reached an agreement and which has respected the prices they asked for.
"In our store we sell them at 14 euros / kg. We have not raised a penny in four years."
They have dark, white, pistachio, kinder, glazed ...
Pastelería de la Torre is one of the six pastry shops in Morata de Tajuña.
In the town there are currently six pastry shops and the pique among them is known among the neighbors: who makes them better, who was the first to dip them in the syrup, which one has more chocolate ... Word of mouth has been the only accomplice of this 'collective' success.
"There is space and an audience for everyone," adds Marisa, who prefers not to get into more controversy.
Bikers, cyclists, couples, families with children, neighbors from nearby towns ... The public is wide and very varied.
With this potential, giving echo to the palm trees even became an electoral promise in the last elections of the current socialist mayor Ángel Sánchez.
"It was and is a way to benefit the Morata brand. Those who come for the palm trees visit our museum, stay to eat ... The economy moves and that is always good," he explains on the other end of the phone.
Three years ago, the first Palm Fair was held in Morata de Tajuña
.
"Each edition has been a greater madness," they say from the consistory.
"In the last edition we calculated that 100,000 units were made."
In 2020 it was not organized because of the pandemic, but there were unconditional people who approached the people.
"My idea was to value a very good product, as has been done, for example, with the miguelitos from La Roda," explains the mayor.
At Pastelerías De la Torre they are already the third generation at the helm of the business.
They have just changed places in town because "the other one had become too small for us
,
"
says Loli de la Torre, all proud at 60 years of age.
The whole family works in the business, "my husband, my children and my daughter-in-law."
Here they have added to the usual flavors the Oreo cookie frosting palm tree.
"It's my son's thing."
The one that they sell the most is still, yes, the traditional chocolate one.
Andalusia, Valencia, Extremadura, Asturias, Galicia, Extremadura ... Orders come from all over Spain
.
"We send them by courier."
They also do not have a sale through the web nor do they have in mind to mount it.
"We don't have the capacity for more."
They are amazed at the good pace of sales again.
"We distribute them in pastry shops and bakeries in Madrid as well."
At this point in the week they are already looking at the weather;
If the sun shines, they already know what is coming.
Addresses
: Pastelería Real: Real, 15. Tel .: 918 73 00 20./ Pastelería de la Torre: Domingo Rodelgo, 12./ Tel .: 910 70 65 39
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