The thermometers of the city mark 35 degrees, the ground burns under our feet. The sun hits the asphalt of Jaume III like a hammer, and the impact almost starts a sizzle that forces us to seek shelter. It is a relief to drop into the shady streets of Bonaire to evade so much hustle and bustle. In the heart of this neighborhood, time stands still and the temperature drops to envelop us in a pleasant serenity. We are in an area of Palma where one breathes vintage vibes, and our steps stop in front of a glass door that, when opening, lets escape an aroma of freshly baked bread. But this is not just any bread, nor are we in front of a conventional bakery.
"We always say that our project was born out of love". With these words, Gus Alem welcomes us to Uco Bakery, the bakery that he and his partner, Cate Stanton, opened in June 2021. One year later, his name resonates in every corner of Mallorca. Their story begins in Germany, where the two met while studying at university. Gus' voice is tender because he loves what he does and loves to explain it. With a Brazilian accent that only sweetens his story, he flies us from Europe to Sao Paulo, where they moved to Rio de Janeiro. It was there that they planted the seed - perhaps unknowingly - of their current project, where they began to take an interest in the quality of their food. "In Brazil we ate excellent breads, 100 percent sourdough." According to him, once you try natural fermentation bread, the method already applied by our ancestors, it is very difficult to go back to industrialized baking. "This is much more than a product: it is a style, a philosophy." A way of life that did not fit in with the freneticism and chaos that the big cities of Brazil gave them.
"I started making bread at home so that Cate could eat it”.
After a few months of pondering, they headed for the province of Mendoza, Argentina. Specifically to the Uco Valley, hence the name of their initiative. "When we moved to Argentina we fell in love with the context, the environment, the contact with nature, which is what we were looking for. Besides, the Uco Valley is a wine-growing area that produces very good wines. But we did notice that there was not the bread we liked". To all this we have to add an important detail: Cate is gluten intolerant, and breads that are kneaded with additives in a machine and then frozen cause her eczema and small allergies. It was then, settled in a little house overlooking the snowy peaks of the Andes, that Gus made a gesture of enormous significance. "I started making bread at home so that Cate could eat it and to maintain the diet we wanted". No one was going to tell them that this self-taught decision, the fruit of love, would lead them to where they are now.
Our eyes wander around Uco Bakery's showcase and we can only admire their product: the soft sponginess of its crumb and the crunchy relief of its crust, the irresistible smell of its ingredients and the chromatic variety of its cereals. "At Uco there is no machinery because we don't want people to be distanced from the product. We mold all the breads by hand and the ingredients are local and of quality". He is right. Part of the flour is from xeixa, the olive oil is from Son Moragues and the almonds are from Ametlla. When a Mallorcan walks through the doors of Uco Bakery, they feel a direct connection with the properties of their land. "We use carob from a project called Johannis and the cocoa is from Maüa. We want the community here to feel identified. We make everything in a sustainable and artisanal way." Cate and Gus are in charge of Uco, but both are at the service of the sourdough. It is her who dictates the rhythms. "In the end, sourdough is a living thing. It's yeast and bacteria from the environment, and you have to feed it and take care of it. That's what we do here every day. The fermentation of our breads takes thirty hours, and we like to respect nature's timing."
A soft and relaxed cadence that accompanies us to the slow life. To wake up in the morning without the city traffic whipping us, to bury our feet on the beach while the breeze caresses our face. An ideology that can only be practiced in certain places. In the bucolic landscape of Uco, Gus sold the bread he baked in an artisan way to neighbors and friends. One loaf. Five loaves. Fifteen loaves. An organic growth that, in Mendoza, made them be in wineries and restaurants of reference. In Mallorca, Uco's oven heats one hundred kilos of bread a day. Gus explains why they left Argentina without losing their smile: "the economic conditions were complicated by the pandemic and we looked for other options in Spain. I knew I was going to continue making bread, but I had to start from scratch again".
"There are people who come from far away and ask us if we can reach more towns on the island".
They knew that their destination was going to be the Balearic Islands. The reason? The multiple summers in which they let themselves be toasted by the sun of Menorca. Their desire? To want that same thing for their whole life. A step back that has propelled them forward because Mallorca inspires them: the sea, the mountains and the climate are the perfect recipe for their creations. The warmth of the islanders did not take long to be noticed. Their activity on social networks made their work spread by word of mouth, and Gus carried out all the orders on the back of his bicycle. He would leave his home and pedal to the outskirts of Palma because his reputation took them far. When he returned home, he would ride the coordinates of the center and read the for rent signs until they found this place. A diaphanous space that oozes transparency and where their customers - some so loyal that they have followed them since their beginnings - can contemplate the artisanal process that stimulates magic.
Anyone would think that Uco's bread has been made by someone who has attended the most prestigious bakery schools in the country. Reality, however, assures otherwise. "Cate and I are both lawyers, although she left law when we started our relationship to become a hotel manager. I don't have a bakery background, but since 2019 I have dedicated myself exclusively to this. I was passionate about it from the beginning." She was so passionate that a year after landing in Mallorca, they´re contemplating a close horizon in which their project just grows. "There are people who come from far away and ask us if we can reach more towns on the island, but we don't want to open a network or franchise. Any step we take has to be very conscious. We want to expand the project a bit, and first we have to identify with the community."
The Uco Bakery community gathers in their bakery to escape from the rush and industrialized processes. This is where they share experiences with Cate and Gus, where they hold workshops on sourdough, where a local artist can exhibit his work for a whole month. This is much more than a bakery. It's not a fashion craze, it's a trend. Within its walls the counterrevolution of bread is baked.
