Joe Ray

March 16, 2006 - Agence France Presse

With a mix of flair, an eye for things of beauty and, er, dried bugs, four men are turning food-crazed Barcelona into a candy lovers’ paradise on earth.

First up is Christian Escriba, a fourth-generation pastry chef, who often seems closer to an artist than the baker down the street.

His Candy-Glam rings look like something made by a glass-blower and are so successful that Parisian department stores display them in their jewelry sections.

The rings were born from a wedding ceremony where, as he puts it enigmatically, “The woman was the cake.”

To explain, he popped a DVD into his computer and on a video, a woman floated out of the darkness wearing a giant dress covered with colored plates of hard candy. Her “hair” was fluorescent green, and on her fingers, candy rings.

On a pre-Valentine’s Day whim, he displayed the rings like jewels in a famous bakery on La Rambla each one in its own case, which on purchase were then put in a larger box.

A giant match packet made of molten sugar is displayed in the shop of Australian duo of Tommy Tang and Chris King, whose imported expertise wows clients at their store, Papabubble, in Barcelona. With a mix of flair, an eye for things of beauty, four men are turning food-crazed Barcelona into a candy lovers’ paradise on Earth(AFP/File/Joe Ray)

The presentation is a lot closer to something from Cartier than the candy store at the mall. Once he had just completed his window display, when a buyer from London’s famous department store, Harrod’s, walked by.

“I got a call from Harrod’s buyer (just afterward) who wanted to start stocking them. Right away.”

Since then, it’s snowballed and the 200 different models of rings he makes can now be found around the world.

Across town, in what might as well be a parallel universe, there’s Llorenc Petras, better-known as the mushroom man of Barcelona, for his stand in the city’s famous market, La Boqueria.

But tucked away in a corner are about a dozen varieties of dried bugs from far-flung corners of the world. And on his display are lollipops and soap-sized blocks of clear candy bearing bugs seemingly frozen in time inside.

“You put them on the table and maybe nobody touches them, but everybody talks about them,” he said.

Or at least stares at them in disbelief. Just about everyone who looks at his market display does so with their mouth agape, looking at the creepy, crawly, ready-to-eat bugs.

Using a hand-held blowtorch and large tweezers, pastry chef Christian Escriba attaches a candy stamen into a candy flower ring in his shop of Barcelona. Escriba’s Candy-Glam rings look like something made by a glass-blower and are so successful that Parisian department stores display them in their jewelry sections.(AFP/File/Joe Ray)

“It started off as a joke, but the public kept demanding it. We didn’t really think it would amount to much,” he said.

Finally, there’s the funky Australian duo of Tommy Tang and Chris King, whose imported expertise wows clients at their store, Papabubble.

With a bit of luck, a client can time it to see one of the two men carrying out a vat of molten sugar and watch the entire candy-making process unfold before their eyes.

Young or old, every Papabubble client seems mesmerized by Tang and King as they bend hot sugar to their wills.

Children plunk their chins down on the counter, rest their forehead against the sneeze guard and go into the same slack-jawed trance as their parents.

Tang and King got going in Australia, running a set of successful candy shops called Sugar before giving it all up and moving to Barcelona.

“They find it fascinating that people come from Australia and set up shop, but it’s something artisanal and they have a lot of respect for handmade things,” said King.

People walk by the Escriba bakery on Barcelona’s famous street, La Rambla. With a mix of flair, an eye for things of beauty, four men are turning food-crazed Barcelona into a candy lovers’ paradise on Earth. (AFP/File/Joe Ray)

Now, they are an integral part of the fabric of the city and each day they churn out 75 kilos (150 pounds) of candy, giving away freshly-made free samples to anyone who walks in the door. Parents should be warned however that the chances of making it out without buying something for the kids (or themselves) are slim to none.

Together, Tang and King make lollipops resembling everything from swirly hearts to dogs to x-rated body parts, in just about every flavor imaginable.

They are also candy freaks in their own right. King still has a soft spot for the candy of his youth: Mint Pattys, Humbugs, the Harry Potter-sounding Polywaffles and Fry’s Turkish Delight. Tang’s favorites include Peppermint Crisps, and a less-tasty sounding one called Snakes Alive!

“Why candy?” said King when asked why he dropped his university studies in industrial design. “More fun, less stress.”

Back in the bakery, Christian Escriba sums up the Barcelona candy scene, “You know Charlie and The Chocolate Factory?” he asked. “That’s us.”

THIS STORY ALSO RAN WITH: Yahoo! News, Mail&Guardian Online.com, IOL.co.za