Sweets from the Caliph Ronda, the most delicious Arab-Andalusian fusion of Sabor a Málaga
Dulces del Califa Ronda is a small bakery specialising in the preparation of typical Arab sweets with an Andalusian essence. A family business located in the San Francisco neighbourhood of the aforementioned municipality, where we can find a wide range of high quality cakes, all of them handmade and with a predominance of local or zero kilometre ingredients such as almonds, pistachios, Ronda walnuts and the extraordinary extra virgin olive oils from Malaga.
Exquisite and appetising sweets among which we can appreciate and taste the Arab almond tiles, the almond delights or Turkish sponge cake, the handmade chocolate and pistachio nougat, alfajores, mantecados with olive oil, chubarkias or Arab pestiños, as well as the Turkish baklawa with Ronda nuts and honey, among many other specialities. But if there is one star product that is indispensable in the showcases of this bakery, it is its yemas de Ronda "al estilo del Califa", where the fusion of cultures makes them memorable morsels.
Amalle Saab and Rafael Pimentel, a committed and "sweet" married couple, run this unique bakery. Two master pastry chefs with extensive international experience who, in October 2020, plucked up the courage to launch their business idea, "to recover an old confectionery that existed in Ronda and open their small patisserie-cafeteria-tea shop from which they could offer and share the fusion of recipes and flavours of their lands of origin, thus showing the gastronomic richness of their two cultures: Moroccan and Andalusian". A courage to undertake that had several attempts to open, one of them in March 2020, an occasion truncated by the confinement and the pandemic. "In spite of this, we were able to pull ourselves together and make our dream come true", they tell us emotionally.
Traditional family recipes
Rafael maintains that he has always been fascinated by the world of pastry making, enjoying it from the moment he starts choosing ingredients from local producers, through the creative and/or innovative process, to its elaboration. The same is true for his wife, although Rafael recognises that Amalle has a special gift during the elaboration process, "in addition to experience, she has a genuine talent and wisdom thanks to the traditional family recipes" He affirms that although they both have the same ingredients, each one makes in a distinctive and peculiar way. But, without a doubt, "the greatest satisfaction comes when the customer tastes our products and appreciates the finesse and richness of those flavours that are so much our own", says Rafael.
This richness has a lot to do with the professional and personal background of both of them. Amalle has extensive training in the sector and holds an official qualification in international patisserie. Rafael, for his part, in addition to extensive formal training, has spent more than half his life as a pastry chef "specifically 36 years", during which time, he says, "I have had an infinite number of experiences". He trained in the pastry shop Eva in Marbella; he spent nine years working in the Goyo bakery, also in Marbella, and has worked in countries such as Romania, France, Italy, China and Morocco, the latter being the place where he met his wife. Rafael specifies that during his stay in Morocco he worked in a five-star hotel linked to the Royal House. They settled in Spain in 2016 and after several jobs related to their profession "we came to Ronda". In short, a long road that has finally brought him home.
Enjoying a break
Today, the facilities of Dulces del Califa Ronda have about 36 square metres for the bakery, cafeteria and shop, as well as a terrace of 16 square metres. A charming establishment located in a picturesque corner of the San Francisco neighbourhood, "at the foot of the oldest church in Ronda, a hundred metres from the Almocábar gate, and under a tree that is more than 150 years old" - Rafael describes it to us.
A space in which to enjoy a pleasant break where, as well as offering a wide range of sweets, there is room to highlight the products of the Serranía de Ronda, an area that is home to great local wines, liqueurs, extra virgin olive oils and jams, among others, which showcase the agri-food heritage of a region with a long history. Rafael tells us that his sweets complete a wonderful pairing with the sweet wines with denomination of origin Malaga and he is planning to elaborate buckwheat biscuits with dried tomato, olives and wines from Ronda and to schedule tastings on routes with an ecological factor.
The display cases of Dulces del Califa Ronda showcase a wide variety of cakes and sweets, a space in which empanadas, Moroccan pastries, spelt and seed biscuits, bonbons, chocolates with nuts, almond pastries, nougat, pistachio baklava, El Cid chocolates with nougat, date and aniseed cannoli, and of course, yemas del Califa Ronda with a special Caliph's touch -whose ingredients include orange blossom water- are displayed together with many other references in the style of Arabian orange blossom, canutillos de dátiles y anís, and of course, the yemas de Ronda with the special touch of the Califa - whose ingredients include orange blossom water - are displayed alongside many other Arab-Andalusian style references where top quality local ingredients enhance the flavour and qualities of these little delicacies. "We use many zero-kilometre or local products, such as pistachios from Ronda, almonds from the region or other nearby areas, as well as honey, an indispensable ingredient in Arab sweets".
Amalle and Rafael point out that they spend many busy hours in the bakery, as all their creations are made by hand. In this respect, Rafael points out that his bakery is a business open to the customer, who can watch live how he and his wife Amelle create their delicate sweets, taking care of every part of the process, allowing top quality ingredients, the right proportions and the right time to provide the right flavour and aromas to delight the senses, "specialities created with great care and which our customers value and appreciate very positively". Rafael declares that he currently sells all his products in the shop and that 70% of his customers are tourists, covering a wide range of age groups.
A small bakery with room for the whole world
The couple also tell us that although only 20% of the tourists who visit the city of Ronda come to their area, it is this foreign public, both from Spanish cities and from many different parts of the world, who come to Dulces del Califa Ronda recommended by their family and friends, who assure them that they will find in their workshop unique flavours full of multiculturalism, and where each creation tells its own story, those provided by the hands and heart of Amelle and Rafael.
Reflecting this particularity, Rafael shows us the world map that occupies a prominent place in his workshop, and on which the customers themselves, arriving from many different destinations, mark with a pin their place of origin: the Seychelles, Russia, New Caledonia, Hawaii and countless remote villages on all continents. A beautiful souvenir where the gastronomic experience and the cultural and monumental surroundings of Ronda make it an essential visit.
Future plans: restaurants, shops and online shop
Rafael tells us that since August 2023 they have been part of Sabor a Málaga, the agri-food and promotional brand of the Provincial Council, and that among their short and medium-term objectives are to train a team to attend the regional fairs organised by the institution, as well as the annual Gran Feria which takes place in the Paseo del Parque in the capital, "an experience which this year we have been fortunate enough to attend". They also plan to expand their network of clients, supplying nearby businesses such as restaurants and hotels, and to create a website for online sales to promote their location and the specialisation of their Arab-Andalusian fusion products.
Rafael and Amalle are a great team of master pastry chefs, a perfect team, and they say that they know how to organise and coordinate themselves just by looking at each other. Amalle knows four languages, so contact with customers is very fluid. It is this approach that most nourishes the spirit of this couple is the fact that "customers, mainly foreigners, recognise the work well done, the care and quality of the product, they are interested in our trajectory, our customs, our way of making products and why we decided to set up an Arab pastry shop in Ronda. It is a real gift".
Ronda is a land of great beauty, monumental and artistically speaking. It is a town of kind people, with a wide culture and civilisations that protect its wealth. To stroll through its streets is to go beyond the gorge and cross the bridge that separates the new from the old. It is to be impregnated with aromas, memories engraved on the façades and a gastronomy that ranges from the most traditional to avant-garde cuisine and even signature cuisine with a lot of roots and a genuine Taste of Malaga.
Visiting Dulces del Califa Ronda is a one-way street. A place where you can taste the most authentic flavours that have been beating in the kitchens of two unique lands for centuries. An opportunity not to be missed. Rafael, a restless man, with projection and involved in his town, gave us this interview while he was in a hurry to organise a pastry competition for his town, at the same time as he was hosting the local radio station. Even so, he still had time to tell us about the passion that drives his and his wife's life: artisan pastry making with local produce. He recommends us to try two of the specialities that he most enjoys making as a pastry chef: baklava and date canutillo, a sweet that curiously does not contain sugar. He also suggests the Arab pestiño, very typical during the Ramadan season, in which the flavours and smells of various spices such as cloves come to the fore.
But without a doubt, he confesses that we cannot leave without tasting the yemas de Ronda, "because of the shape, the powerful flavours, the colour and because being one of the oldest sweets in the area, it is obviously worth tasting them".
And the fact is that Dulces del Califa Ronda is a point of reference, a place of union and fusion of cultures, where Malaga, Andalusian and Moroccan gastronomy knows no frontiers. A rich pastry shop from here and there, with an authentic Taste of Malaga.
