Banyoles is now home to La Menuda, a new bakery and coffee shop opened by Laura Ortega, a former teacher who has turned a long-standing interest in baking into a business.
Ortega, who was known among friends for bringing birthday cakes, said baking had always been a way to relax and disconnect. Her family background also shaped that interest, her grandmother was a cook, and her mother also cooks.
From a young age, Ortega was curious about cooking and pastry. The first pastry books her mother gave her were titled The Smallest Cook in the House, or La cuinera més menuda de casa, and that helped inspire the name of the new shop.
Before opening La Menuda, Ortega worked as a teacher. She later began to question whether she could stay in that profession for her whole life, and told Diari de Girona that she probably could not emotionally sustain the job for that long.
For readers following local business openings across the region, see our news coverage. La Menuda adds another small independent food business to Banyoles, in the Girona area, with a personal story behind it.