Chocolate is one of the greatest pleasures that the palate can experience, and in many cases, its preparation becomes art. In the case of Enrique Martín from Lanzarote, founder of the La Corona chocolate shop located in Arrecife, he transforms the raw material into handmade chocolates that not only attract attention for their flavor, but also for their appearance through colors. In an interview with La Voz, Martín reveals the details of his business and the products he offers.
- How did you start to become part of the world of chocolate making?
I had always had other jobs, such as being a waiter, and in my last job, I had a work accident in which I broke my leg, which forced me to be on crutches for more than 700 days. That's when I started looking to see if there was something in pastry that would connect me with my childhood, and in Christmas 2013 I started making sweet creations. Then I trained online first and then at the Lamontagne pastry shop with a French pastry chef, where I discovered the world of real chocolate.
At that moment, I became obsessed with the world of chocolate and continued training with very technical courses with this product. Later, in January 2019, in order not to lose the techniques I had learned, I began to temper a small batch of chocolates in my house and give small boxes to family and friends. Through word of mouth, the Regulatory Council of the Lanzarote Wines Denomination of Origin discovered me and wanted to do a wine tasting with the chocolates. In December 2019, I opened La Corona.
- Who makes up the chocolate shop?
Two people work. My brother-in-law Nicolás, who is working in the store and sometimes helps me in the workshop, and me, who makes the chocolates.
- What is the process of making a chocolate?
The preparation is divided into five steps. We take the mold, polish each of the cavities to make it shine, paint the chocolates by hand and scale them, which is putting the chocolate in the chambers to then empty them, and finally, they are filled with a filling that can have different preparations and sealed. I usually make 15 or 20 molds a day with an average of 20 minutes per mold.
The demand we have right now comes mostly from business clients. This means that we have to make around 400 or 500 chocolates a day.
- What flavors do you make?
I dedicate myself to signature chocolate making, so over these six years I will have made between 70 or 80 flavors. We usually have a list of about 25, but it also depends on the season. At Christmas, for example, we go more for nuts or in spring for fruity flavors.
The ones that attract the most attention from customers in the store are the most visual ones, such as a blue one called Salt that is painted blue and inside has dulce de leche, Janubio salt and a little pistachio. This one attracts a lot of attention due to the combination of sweet and salty. Another one that I usually make a lot is the pistachio one and it has many colors, six in total, and it takes a little more work but the aesthetics are what attracts the most.
- Do you use ingredients from Lanzarote?
Unfortunately, we use few products. We use Lanzarote jams for the preparations, smoked cheeses, salt, strawberries and passion fruit. We only use those fruits that we can heat with cream to extract their flavor as much as possible and make a ganache.
- In what format do you sell the chocolates?
At the beginning we always sold them loose, but after covid, we started selling them in boxes and, although it takes us longer to package them, they appreciate it in the store in seasons where there are many sales.
- The famous youtuber and businessman Elías Navarro interviewed you on his channel. How was it?
I signed up for the casting and a few days later they called me to go to the recording. I wasn't so nervous because I've been to many tasting events and so on, and also, I was going to show what I know how to do.
I am very excited because I was clear that I wanted to launch a proposal to change the perception of La Sirena because it is constituted as a cold supermarket and I wanted to transform it into one that has feeling, sensitivity and essence. He has spent many millions of euros on it but has not succeeded and I think my product is the key.
Therefore, we agreed to do a pilot test in September to offer 1,500 chocolates in their stores. If it goes as I expect, we could have a very good contact with La Sirena. It would be a neuroscience experience with chocolates.