It is always said that the procession goes inside, but also that the face is the mirror of the soul. Well, in terms of soul—and internalized processions—it seems that Mar Ibanez (Vilanova del Vallés, 2004) is more than enough. Head of pastry at the Michelin star Hisop in Barcelona, this young chef trained in kitchens such as the Hofman School – one of the national benchmarks – and with a previous stint at El Celler de Can Roca is, from today, one of those names not to lose sight of in the world of sweet cuisine.
Sweet cuisine? It remains to be seen, because after winning The Best Dessert award at Gastronomic Forum Barcelona, Ibáñez aims to breaking the mold in what we conceive as desserts and sweet cuisine.
After competing with five other chefs in a disputed final, this young woman from Vilanova seemed to have been left speechless after winning three of the four prizes awarded in the contest. including The Best Dessertwhich crowned her as the best pastry chef in the contest.
However, Ibáñez, who did not seem to believe that her desserts had unanimously agreed with the jury, is one of those cooks who make virtue of necessity and that, as she explained to us after collecting the awards, “she feels very comfortable with desserts that are not so sweet.”
The Barcelona pastry chef is not lying, for whom, among other triumphs, await her, among other triumphs, an 11-month course at the Espai Sucre school – another of the Barcelona and national references in terms of sweet cuisine. The first dessert she comments, “she is a pre-dessert to use the waste from the summer menu” in a sustainability plea that put shisho leaves, cucumber and almonds on the table.
The Espaisucre Method: You do play with flavor (Pastry and desserts)
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The same message that, when it had to play the most purely sweet card based on chocolate – one of the requirements of the contest – has also ended up sweeping territories where acidity was king. For it, a dessert based on porcini (boletus) in marinade and Valrhona chocolate, turning pickled mushrooms into ice cream.
Images | Jaime de las Heras
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