Fantasia by Escribà: Q&A with Chef Christian Escribà
mis à jour le 6 October 2015 à 23:52
Chef Christian Escribà and Patricia Schmidt are ready to serve up a feast at Fantasia by Escribà in Singapore this month. We ask what inspired their journey and what to expect from this dessert extravaganza.
The long-awaited Fantasia by world-renowned pastry Chef Christian Escribà will finally be here – at the end of the month. If you, like many of us, have grown up envious of Hansel and Gretel’s adventures – minus the witch of course – and have only dreamt of a lifelike world, made entirely of carefully constructed confectionary creations, your fantasies will finally be fulfilled. Exhibition-goers can expect a truly decadent affair, featuring marvelous life-sized animals made entirely from sugar and chocolate, a 10-metre-long dessert wall, high-heeled shoes, lips, hotdogs & fries made with sugar and marzipan, chocolate shots amongst many other things. In addition to this, Fantasia by Escribà is also attempting to set a new record with their Callebaut Falls, which is 8-metres high. As if that weren’t enough to make a sweet-lover grow weak in the knees, Fantasia by Escribà will also have four regular showcases of lavish theatrical performances by Comediants, one of the most famous theatre groups in Europe. There will also be great savoury pastry items at the exhibition.
Curious to know what inspired the man behind this extravaganza and challenges he faced - we asked chef Christian Escribà to delve a little deeper into the world of Fantasia and his lifelong love with pastry and confectionery.
1) What inspired this journey?
This journey started when we created Escribá Asia. Until now, Escribá has only operated in Barcelona, Spain. We are starting to work in Asia and we want Singapore to be the centre of Escribá for the region.
2) How is it like working with your partner Chef Patricia Schmidt, who shares your passions?
Since I’ve met Patricia, my life has changed and improved a lot both personally and professionally. Why is it so easy to work with Patricia? To begin with, she is totally different from me and she contributes in different ways, and secondly she is a very hard worker, just like myself, thus I don´t have anybody that stops me. On the contrary, to have somebody on your side like Patricia is always fantastic for a creative person like myself.
3) You have received such prominence for your work, in such a short time, has it been overwhelming for you?
Recognition is always good and it gives you a lot of motivation to keep on working, creating and improving. I'm very grateful for any recognition. However, responsibility grows with recognition.
4) Who was your biggest influence? Your grandfather or your father?
My biggest influence would have to be my father. I have been trying to build upon my father´s philosophy regarding the pastry/patisserie industry.
5) Why did you pick Singapore to showcase Fantasia?
Patricia and I visited Singapore for our honeymoon and fell in love with it – we couldn’t imagine a better location to hold this one-of-a-kind event.
6) Have you faced any significant limitations to having your works showcased? Has it been a difficult process?
The fact that Fantasia is a first show of its kind, makes it very singular. Therefore there is a challenge in every corner. It is like going to the jungle for the first time without a guide and a machete. We are like “explorers” but explorers of the confectionary business. We are creating something that hasn't been done before in the confectionary business history.
7) Tell us a little bit about the entire process – from the theatrical aspect to the sweet preparation aspect?
When I had the idea for this big project, it was very important for me that our visitors were able to interact. Not only will they find masterpieces, life-size chocolate animals and lots of other activities, but the fact that there will be interaction between the characters and visitors where they are going to have a fantastic time. It's an event created for all the members of the family to enjoy.
8) Are you partial towards Elephants, since you have some rather prominent elephant installations? If so, why?
I do like elephants but we basically picked the elephant for a reason. We´ve already done the “El Bulli dog” for Ferrán Adriá (an enlarged version) and our next challenge was a 4 meters chocolate bear custom made for “Tous” (Spanish brand). However, we wanted a new challenge and the elephant seemed to be the right choice. We did some research and the largest elephant was about 4.5 meters tall, hence we decided that we were going to create an even larger one. Fantasia’s elephant is about 5 meters tall.
9) Do you have any words of inspiration for aspiring pastry chefs?
My first advice is to be PATIENT. It took me 20 years; I started when I was 15 and now, I've been in the business for 37 years. The first 8 to 10 years, I dedicated my time to training and learning - It's like a career. Once you are done with your training then you are ready to create. Training and patience is vital and the rest is practice.
10) What are some of your future plans?
We do have a lot of projects, but right now they are only projects. Our very next goal is to focus on Fantasia. We want it to work very well, and our focus is on this project. Once Fantasia is over, we are going to take a few weeks off and start working on future projects. We'll let you know about them soon.
Fantasia by Escribà will run from 22 to 24 August 2014 at Marina Bay Sands (Halls D & E). For more details about ticketing and other information please visit http://www.fantasiaescriba.com,
Diya-Maya Tsering Bhalla
