BEST OF MOMENTS - February 23, 2019
It's all about joy ...
If you stay at a five-star boutique hotel, you know you’re in for a special treat and ultra luxury. However, if you opt for a no-star pension, you should be prepared for a squeaky bed. Although Daniel Beinetti isn’t in the accommodation part of the hospitality industry, he’s most definitely into the other part of the sector that involves food. And in his kitchen, you find no ‘squeaky beds’. Only special treats and luxury to make your life sweet. Why? Because it’s all about joy!
Sometimes, an outside-in perspective can be the most insightful. Just as it sometimes takes a foreigner to bring us the inside scoop on who and how we really are. It might not always be the most Instagrammable of pictures that is painted of us, but if we can count on it to be honest and presented with respect and affection, it may just give us a glimpse of the bigger picture …
Introducing Daniel Beinetti
Daniel Beinetti is an American-born Mallorquin. Born in California and raised in upstate New York, he is, indeed, American. However, having spent more than 20 years in Mallorca – raising a family, building a business, developing into the man he’s become while living on this island in the Mediterranean – leaves us with the feeling that he is – at least part – Mallorquin at heart.
Mixing the American with the Mallorquin
And there’s no doubt that Mallorca has a big place in hisheart – a natural consequence of the life that has played out, over his years spent here. However, part of the reason for his success measured in business terms is what he brought with him from The United States: 1) a solid belief that anything can be done if you work hard and aren’t afraid to use the method of ’trial and error’, and 2) some of his mother’s fab recipes :).
Life's sweet
Because although Daniel Beinetti may have started out his career on the island transforming dough into pizza, he has established a name for himself as a true artist when it comes to American desserts. Apple crumble, carrot cake, red velvet, brownies, cheese cake, banoffee, lemon merengue … you name it; he can make it! And he does. Together with his team, POSTRES BEINETTI has a great set-up with kitchen and part shop/ part café in La Vileta in the outskirts of Palma. The sign on the door carries his name + a tagline that’s hard to argue with – or even resist, for that matter: Life’s sweet! And with POSTRES BEINETTI in your neighbourhood, it most definitely is!
The sugar and spice
”It’s really all about joy. All about the satisfaction of bringing joy to other people. And then it doesn’t matter whether it’s something ’Nobel Price winning”-profound or it’s within the realm of handmade food. As long as you do your best and find your ownjoy in bringing joy to others, you’re pretty much home free”, says Beinetti, emphasizing his take on what makes life sweet.
A commercial twist on your passion
And although it may sound quite Nobel-ish, there’s no doubt that Daniel Beinetti has created his business on a deep understanding of what’s commercial and what works. What is it that people want to buy? What is it they want? – not just today, but also tomorrow and over time.
Doing your homework
“Irrespectively of which industry you work in, you have to do your homework! And when working within the hospitality sector – with food – you’ll find many fantastic cafés and bars offering excellent local food at good prices. So you have to find your niche. Your particular slice of the market where you know – or at least have a pretty good feeling – that you have a special value-add”, says Beinetti.
Finding your value-add
“After going through the usual ‘rumble’ of being a foreign element in a new country, and teaching English to the locals, I discovered that my value-add was to introduce different flavours, tastes and dishes to the people in my neighbourhood. Whether it was homemade lasagne or pizzas, carrot cakes or brownies, I started cooking from home – and it took off from there. By 2008, the word had spread, and I’d been contacted by a number of major companies, hotels and restaurants, so I set up a mini kitchen and went full-blown into the retail market. I remodelled the shop and invested in branding, and about 8 years later – in October 2016 – I bought in some partners and developed POSTRES BEINETTI. A whole new look & feel of the business, and with an emphasis on the American desserts”, continues Beinetti.
... and pursuing it
It’s obviously working! When visiting Daniel Beinetti at POSTRES BEINETTI for the interview to make this article, there was vivid activity in the shop: People coming in for a coffee and a cake. A couple shopping for cakes to bring home. A man picking up a pre-ordered birthday cake for his child’s special day. And neighbours passing by – with a wave and promise to drop by later.
'Poc a poc'
“Today, the POSTRES BEINETTI team consists of around 20 people, perfecting our desserts and cakes every day. Not just for the shop and café itself, but most definitely also for the many retail customers we have. My ambitions are far-reaching, and I generally work a lot, but I think there’s much more of a ‘work to live’ rather than ‘live to work’ culture in Mallorca than in The States. The sun is shining, people take their time, and I’ve come to think very highly of the quaint and rather handy Mallorquin expression ‘poc a poc’, meaning ‘little by little’. In short: People don’t get all worked about small things and break into a sweat. They know that they’ll get the job done – eventually”, Beinetti smiles.
Taking it even further
Although using the word ‘eventually’, it doesn’t seem to be a regular element in Daniel Beinetti’s own life. He very much seems to be a person that turns thought into action on a daily basis.
“We already have a variety of sugar-free alternatives, and my plan for the future is to make the assortment of gluten-free and vegan desserts even larger. That requires a whole new kitchen set-up, though, and that’s very much on the agenda for the upcoming months. In addition, the set-up of POSTRES BEINETTI has been done in such a way that it can easily be turned into a franchise. So maybe you’ll encounter other POSTRES BEINETTI shops and cafés around the island – and maybe even in the peninsula – in the future. Places where locals get together for a warming coffee on grey and rainy days and meet up for a cake and a chat on sunnier days”, comments Beinetti.
On that note, we’re somewhat back to the beginning of our interview:
“It’s really the greatest satisfaction in the world to get positive feedback from other people. When you perform a task and feel you’re doing a good job, to actually hear them say that they love what you do, that they appreciate the service you provide, and that they notice your daily efforts to offer quality consistency and products at a good price. That’s the reward. That’s a major part of what makes life sweet. For me”, Daniel Beinetti concludes.
