What’s New & Enterprising
By Celia Gelada, Dec 8, 2006

The art of delight

Art in San Miguel exists in many forms, and we are blessed to be surrounded by color, music, literature and excellent cuisine, all created by great artists.

Now, we can add another name and another art form to our treasures: Juan Salvador Gutiérrez Riquer, a 26-year-old confectioner who took first place in Mexico’s national confectionary competition in 2004.

Gutiérrez graduated from the IGES (Institute of Superior Studies in Gastronomy) in Querétaro, one of the few universities in Mexico that confers a bachelor’s degree in confectionery arts. He has a bachelor’s degree in Gastronomy, French and English, along with a specialization in nutrition for those with health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. 

While studying at the Institute he won several prizes and, even before he graduated, he was approached to work as a nutritionist and confectioner for companies such as Trico’s Bakeries, the Holiday Inn at the Querétaro airport and Liverpool. In 2001, Gutiérrez was put in charge of the September 15 government gala dinner.

Winning first prize in the national confectionary competition—with his original “three chiles and chocolate cake”—gave him the chance to travel to Alicante, Spain, to study with the famous pastry chef Francisco Torreblanca, winner of several important national and international competitions. Torreblanca, better known as “Paco” Torreblanca, created the cake for the royal wedding of the Spanish Prince of Asturias. One of his best-known creations is called “Royal Gianduya.”

Gutiérrez has lived in San Miguel since last April. In his “high-fusion” confectionary shop, Je T’aime, located in Plaza Real del Conde, he sells the “Gianduya Real” as well as his prize-winning Three Chiles and Chocolate Cake,” along with his other creations. For this chocolate cake he spent a month working with a food chemist, a French chef and a Mexican gastronomy expert to develop the unique chile marmalade.

But that’s not all. Some of his other edible pieces of art have such intriguing titles, and tastes, as “Chinese Spices & Chocolate,” “Roquefort & Chocolate,” “Champagne Cake” and “Red Wine Cake,” not to mention white and dark truffles.

He can also create a masterpiece with any ingredients you choose, such as mango with anise and wine.

Everything is created with imported ingredients, baked in special silicone molds brought from France. Every cake is frozen at -24°C for 5 hours and can be kept frozen for six months.

Currently, Gutiérrez is exploring the Mexican culinary heritage and creating a modern Mexican confectionery that complements the unique flavors of this cuisine. He asks, “How can we eat a mole or spicy food, accompanied with tequila, then end with a Tres Leches cake?” To better complement the cuisine of Mexico, he has already created a superb “mezcal cake,” a goat cheese cake and a guayaba candy cake. When he isn’t creating sweets—incidentally, he is also a master of chocolate and sugar sculpting—he is writing a book about his concept of confectionery art.

Juan Salvador Gutiérrez Riquer joins the ranks of San Miguel’s true artists, adding a crystallized sugar jewel to our crown. You can find him at Je T’aime, near Gigante in Plaza Real del Conde (phone 044-415-117-6008).