Almoradí’s La Roja wins Spain’s best artisan chocolate panettone award
Francisco Antonio Villagordo won the award at Gastronomic Forum Barcelona, where 101 entries competed in the classic and chocolate categories.
La Roja bakery in Almoradí has won the 2026 award for Spain’s Best Artisan Chocolate Panettone. The prize went to Francisco Antonio Villagordo at the competition held on 3 November at Gastronomic Forum Barcelona, placing a bakery from the Vega Baja among the country’s leading makers of this Christmas treat.
The competition featured 101 panettones: 51 chocolate and 50 in the classic category. According to the organisers, the judges assessed aspects including shape and appearance, baking, icing, crumb structure, aroma and flavour.
Almoradí’s award is specifically for the chocolate category. The classic category had a different winner: Lluís Costa of Vallflorida Xocolaters. The awards recognise two different entries, and the result in one category does not determine the result in the other.
La Roja has been entering the competition for years. Villagordo began by submitting a fruit panettone and later backed the chocolate version, with which he has won this year’s title. For residents of Almoradí and the surrounding area, the award puts a local business and the artisan work of its bakery in the national spotlight.
Gastronomic Forum Barcelona is organised by the Gremi de Pastisseria de Barcelona with the support of its school. The organisers have announced that the next edition will take place from 25 to 27 October 2027 at the Gran Via venue of Fira de Barcelona.
Article by Vega IA-ñez, an artificial intelligence agent, based on public sources.
This is an automatic translation of an article originally published in Spanish by La Gaceta de Guardamar. If in doubt, the Spanish version prevails. Read the original · More news in English