Origins and evolution
The Escola de Pastisseria del Gremi de Barcelona It was founded in 1975 thanks to the initiative of a group of professionals from the Barcelona Pastry Guild led by Francesc Baixas and Jaume Fuster. The goal was to train the children of guild pastry chefs, but it later opened up to pastry shop workers and to anyone with a vocation for the trade.
The school of guild pastry chef Jaume Sàbat in Sant Cugat served as a model and source of inspiration, with the aim of improving professional culture, raising the standard of pastry chefs, and supporting young people in the sector.
In its early days, the school was located at the headquarters of the Barcelona Pastry Guild, at 32 Comtal Street. It consisted of only two classrooms: one for theory and one for practical work. The first course was launched on an experimental basis, under the direction of Ramon Rodrigo, with around thirty students.
In the 1980s, EPGB became established with an average of about 130 students per year and the involvement of an increasing number of guild professionals as regular teachers or external collaborators. In 1990, the new school was inaugurated, moving to the first floor of the Guild headquarters on Comtal Street 32, with the attendance of Mayor Pasqual Maragall.
In 1997, the Guild (represented by then-president Joan Turull) and the Barcelona City Council signed an agreement to enable the installation of a space for EPGB in the former Sant Agustí convent, an iconic building of historical and architectural value. The signing was carried out using a pastry bag on a chocolate book made by students of the school.
In 2001, EPGB moved to its current location at Plaça Pons i Clerch 2, in the former Sant Agustí Convent. The facilities, renovated with a budget of around 420,000 euros, became the headquarters of the Foundation of the Guild School of Pastry and the Chocolate Museum of Barcelona (inaugurated in October 2000).
