One of the best-known sommeliers in Romania, appreciated for the professionalism with which he conducts his entire activity related to the world of wine, and admired for the passion put into words when he tells the story of wine at the numerous tastings in the country, Vlad Mureşan is starting to be associated more and more often with gastronomy, especially after his participation in Masterchef Romania , in 2013.
For Vlad Mureşan, food, cooking, cuisine have their own special story, but which is not far from that of wine. They combine harmoniously, intertwine in an adventure that must be lived and experienced with a lot of trust and devotion. For him, food has a similar path to wine because he looks for it, tries it, savors it, analyzes it, talks with and about it.
Why "Un dulce" by Vlad Mureşan?
Because dessert for him is not called dessert, but "sweet" as his mother used to call him when he was a child. And that's why it's made carefully, with warmth and love, like in childhood. And it is also made with great care for health, as naturally as possible, without artificial colorings, precisely to try to capture in a sweet all the aroma, subtlety and color that only natural ingredients can offer. Because he discovered, after Masterchef, that he is passionate about preparing sweets, that it suits him and that he can learn every day. Because it's comforting to see a big smile on people's faces as they taste something that came out of his hands.
Starting from May of this year, Vlad Mureșan is waiting for you in the newest Un Dulce location, in Cluj-Napoca, on Str. Emil Isac, No. 1. Discover below the magical story of this place, the novelties with which it aims to surprise us and learn the secrets of the association between its delicious cakes and the aromatic coffee of Prăjitoria Olivo, in an exclusive interview given by Vlad to our newspaper.
1. How did everything start, from the idea to the implementation of the concept, for Un Dulce Coffee & Cake Spot ?
Natural! As begins any beautiful story that has a natural course. Exactly two years after the opening of the confectionery laboratory and the first bricks laid to build the name "Un Dulce", we thought it appropriate to take the next step towards our customers, at the request of many of them, and open a central location, more close to points of interest in the city.
2. What is unique about Un Dulce Coffee & Cake Spot ? What are the news that it brings?
"Un Dulce" has accustomed its friends to the unique "ingredient", which makes the difference compared to other names in the field. This time, as we are lovers of beauty and appreciate art in any form, we wanted to have in the confectionery, alongside the small "jewels" we create, i.e. our cakes, a coffee that rises to the level of art (of here and the equally natural choice of coffee created by Prăjitoria Olivo)! The location, the design and the works of Romanian artists, such as Petru Leahu, with the sculptures created especially for us and Flavia Chiper, who translated our journey and important moments in our lives on canvas, all these, together, make this location one where you can truly say that it "sweats" through all the pores of beauty.
3. Tell us a few words about the specifics of the menu and the coffee that Un Dulce Coffee & Cake Spot guests can enjoy
The menu you read when you relax in our confectionery is the menu we wanted to have in our hands in a confectionery: with a variety of cakes, which are more and more interesting, with not good but excellent coffee, exotic teas and good water like Aqua Panna and San Pellegrino. This is where I started as an idea. The coffee is created by Prăjitoria Olivo with a mix of two origins, Costa Rica and Ethiopia, respectively, and is called Swiss Blend , with chocolate in mind. Technically speaking, for coffee, I chose the La Marzocco espresso machine , considered the best espresso maker in the world. In this case, we wanted to have our coffee, designed especially for "Un Dulce" by the best, i.e. Prăjitoria Olivo, hence the rather large investment, an investment that some did not understand ("coffee is also coffee"), but which we hope will in time be appreciated as it should be. La Marzocco doesn't come with a flavor, it comes primarily with a clear control of quality, roasting method, 2-week term from roasting to consumption, which all flow into a fabulous cup of coffee.
4. What combinations of cakes and coffee does "Un Dulce" suggest?
The most important association is between "Un Dulce" and "Prăjitoria Olivo"! Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to tell the story of our cookies alongside the coffee that best suits them. I greatly appreciated the fact that a brand that has come to be loved by the people of Cluj has the necessary maturity to "share" its success with others (even through the coffee magician, who belongs to them and from whose hands come the most exclusive and successful blends, namely Marius Nica). Prăjitoria Olivo could very well have chosen exclusivity, but it doesn't and so we are happy to be able to offer in one place two brands that belong to Cluj and which are ours, here!
We have been told many times that "the new girl, the latest trend in terms of coffee is coffee of origin", but we really looked for a mixture that can bring added value to our cakes, hence the name we have given to the mix: Swiss Blend , i.e. a coffee thought through the lens of chocolate. What are we actually talking about? About two beans: cocoa and coffee, which can only attract and complement each other, if they are harmoniously combined. Before reaching our table in today's form, the two beans went through a fabulous adventure for centuries, with cocoa from Mesoamerica, which was originally consumed as a drink, and coffee from Ethiopia, which seems to have used at first as food and not as drink.
With extraordinary histories, worth reading, from magical or aphrodisiac rituals, today we watch how a Sira cake is brought to our table, on a piece of slate (just like in the beginning), which yes, we would like to we combine it with the paired coffee. Then the "Un Dulce" team can tell you that in Asia it is now fashionable to infuse coffee with cardamom, the cardamom we find in Sira. We could therefore propose a Latte that goes with Sira's exotic. If you are tempted by the Kashmiri , a cake with white chocolate, pistachio and sesame, we recommend a Cappuccino . Here we find a complementarity between roasted sesame oils and roasted coffee oil, between white chocolate and cappuccino milk. Duchka , a cake infused with Earl Gray black tea, we think it would suit an Espresso , which, due to the acidity of our blend, would seem to be rejected in the first phase, but which come together in the aftertaste through the dark chocolate and the taste of chocolate in coffee. These are obviously some proposals that we consider suitable, but in the end, each guest who steps on our doorstep chooses the cake and coffee that suits him.
The story says that the cocoa beans were a gift from the Aztec god of wisdom, Quetzalcoatl, the name of the chocolate being translated, on a metaphorical level, by "the gift of the gardener of Paradise to the first people". We are sure, however, that the gardener of Paradise was munching on an Arabica bean next to the cocoa bean!
5. What do you want for the future? How do you see the evolution of the Un Dulce brand ?
In the future, we want to strengthen the "Un Dulce" brand. At the moment we are known and recognized, but what we want is to focus exclusively on this brand and make it even stronger. We also want to have inspiration, creativity to always come up with cakes that surprise and differentiate us on the market. Last but not least, we hope that our choices will be understood and appreciated, regarding the whole concept behind the name "Un Dulce".