Javier Fernández is a baker at the Villas Kamezí workshop in Playa Blanca, who not only makes bread for the guests, but also sells loaves of organic whole wheat with olive, tomato, German style, and rustic flavors.
Additionally, in an interview with the radio program Más de Uno Gourmet on Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero, he reveals the different flavors of the cheesecakes he currently sells on demand, but will soon have a physical point of sale in the Deiland shopping center in Playa Honda.
- Where are you from and how did you get into the world of gastronomy?
I'm from Lanzarote, from Arrecife. My whole family is from here. My entry into gastronomy was by chance. From the time I was 17 until the pandemic, I worked in the world of styling and hairdressing.
- What happened to make that change?
Because of the pandemic, I decided to make a change in my professional life, and I had always liked cooking. I kept trying until I was given the opportunity to work in a kitchen.
I did a small pastry training course, and through the teacher, I got my first contract as an assistant. From there, I have grown until I made the leap to the bread workshop at Villas Kamezí.
"It's very difficult to get quality bread in Lanzarote."
- But bread and pastry are very different, aren't they?
They have nothing to do with each other. I didn't imagine that making bread would be so complicated.
It's a world I wanted to try, and I was lucky to have good professional colleagues who taught me. We are making quality bread, which is very difficult to get in Lanzarote.
- How many people work in the workshop?
Currently, we are four people: the two workshop managers, my colleague, and I. We work for different hotels.
- What kind of bread do you make?
We make several types of bread, especially loaves of organic whole wheat. We make them with olive, tomato, German style, and rustic flavors.
We also make baguettes and mini ciabattas, but the loaves are for external sale.
- Are bread recipes as precise as pastry recipes?
Yes, bread recipes are mathematical, but the result also depends on environmental conditions such as the humidity at that moment, and the heat.
We compensate by adding more water, removing water... We have thermometers that indicate the humidity and temperature of the sourdough.
- What is the most complicated challenge you have faced?
We are trying to make 100% rye bread, which is always a bit more complicated to make. We are doing different tests to get the best quality.
- Apart from your work at Kamezí, you are going to open a pastry business, aren't you?
Our project is called La Cheesecakería, we started in December and it arises from the desire to have something of our own and offer something different on the island.
We have had a very good reception.
- I love the presentation...
The cheesecake comes in a bamboo box that is baked directly, it resists up to 220 degrees. The idea is that the customer can pick it up directly and if they want, they can eat it on the way, it is delivered with its little spoon. We call it individual, but it can be for two or three people.
- What flavors are there?
We have the classic, which can be made with more or less gorgonzola, brownie, gourmet pistachio, white chocolate, Belgian chocolate, dulce de leche...
- Have you thought about using cheese from Lanzarote?
Yes, we have spoken with several award-winning cheese factories in Lanzarote and we are doing tests with smoked cheese, gofio cheese, etc.
- Will there be a specific location for La Cheesecakería?
Now we work on demand, but the plan is to open at the end of May or beginning of June in a location in the Deiland shopping center in Playa Honda. When we open, the idea is to have more flavors and more sizes.
- How do you order a cake now?
Right now through social media and later at the physical point of sale in Deiland.