Alicante to Choose the Best Easter Mona

The Easter Mona is a typical Alicante delicacy. It bears no resemblance to the similarly named food from Catalonia, but rather shares similarities with other creations like the panquemao. It is a sweet bread, with a fluffy crumb, covered in sugar and with a hard-boiled egg in the centre. Traditionally, godparents gift this traditional dessert to their godchildren in the days following Easter.

To maintain the tradition and highlight this sweet, which is mainly consumed the day after Easter Sunday, the Alicante City Council has invited pastry chefs from across the province next Saturday to determine which is the best Easter Mona.

The event will take place during the commercial revitalisation day organised on La Era street by the City Council starting at 10:30 am. Two categories have been established in this contest: the 'Traditional Mona' and the 'Innovative-Freestyle Mona' with gluten and gluten-free options, rewarding creativity and quality.

The monas must be made with high-quality natural ingredients, and bakeries and pastry shops from Alicante and the province wishing to participate must register in one or more categories.

The jury, composed of master bakers and pastry chefs, representatives from Facpyme, and experts in traditional gastronomy and pastry, will taste the monas, rewarding both flavour and texture, dough quality, originality and creativity, as well as innovative design, presentation, and respect for tradition, using traditional ingredients and techniques.

The Councillor for Commerce and Hospitality of Alicante, Lidia López, highlighted that "within the framework of Spain's gastronomic capital, we organise this contest to recognise and value the great work carried out by our bakers and pastry chefs, thus giving visibility to the sector, while promoting a traditional product that is highly appreciated and crafted by our artisan workshops."