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The Eixample smells glorious: Forn Sant Josep and Emili Feliu make Catalonia’s best bread in 2025
In the Eixample, where streets draw geometry and life begins with the smell of freshly baked bread, a bakery has achieved perfection. Forn Sant Josep, with more than a century of history and a soul that ferments between tradition and modernity, has just been crowned with the Premi Pa d’Or 2025. Its creator, master baker Emili Feliu, has been recognised as Catalonia’s best baker, a title that sounds like a reward but also a legacy.
The award comes after a demanding journey through the four Catalan provinces as part of the Selection of the 25 Best Bakers in Catalonia, organised by the Obra Social Ernest Verdaguer and the Panàtics platform. For months, the jury blind-tasted dozens of loaves: creations with the soul of an oven, judged for their crumb, crust, texture, aroma and flavour, but also for that invisible something that only authentic bread conveys.
In the final, the four candidates produced their masterpieces live. It was Feliu who took gold, followed by Jordi Martí (Antic Forn Martí, Lleida), while Óscar Cazorla (Forn Prades) and Felipe García (Casa Monner, Girona) shared bronze.
The award ceremony was held on 26 October at Restaurante Barceloneta, coinciding with the tenth anniversary of the Obra Social Ernest Verdaguer. Its founder, Eduard Verdaguer, recalled that the project was born out of love and loss: a tribute to his son Ernest, turned into a network that brings together bakers, solidarity and hope.
For Emili Feliu, the prize recognises not only a loaf of bread, but a way of understanding life: kneading with respect, baking with patience and serving with pride. In his Eixample bakery, every baguette and every country loaf has a story. And now, also, a place in the history of the best bread in Catalonia.