Xavier Pellicer as Guest chef in the Ikarus

October 2011 at Restaurant Ikarus: Xavier Pellicer

In memory of Santi Santamaria

What do you get when you add one of Barcelona's top chefs to a Catalan master chef? Modern Catalan cuisine from which gourmets can only expect the best! Cuisine as is served at Can Fabes restaurant in Sant Celoni, near Barcelona. The masterminds behind the restaurant were owner and 3-star chef Santi Santamaria and, as of September 2010, his head chef and former student, 2-star chef Xavier Pellicer.

Training as a chef was the last thing that Santi Santamaria, born in 1957, had on his mind, although he loved cooking and as a young boy frequently played in the kitchen. But his path took him far from the stove, to a factory, a profession in the car industry and to a major refinery. At the age of 24 he finally turned his passion for cooking into a job. In 1981 he opened his parental home in the middle of Sant Celoni as his first restaurant, Can Fabes. Because he had not learnt the art of cooking professionally, he simply taught himself and was a roaring success! He was awarded his first Michelin star in 1988, the second in 1990, and he held the third, which he defended to the last, since 1994. Other cooks might have rested on their laurels, but not Santi Santamaria. He ran five restaurants, including the Ossiano at the Atlantis hotel and resort in Dubai and Santi at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. However driven a businessman Santamaria was, as a chef he prized the plain and simple. "Simplicity is everything. I don't use two ingredients if I only need one." In front of the stove he was a perfectionist and champion of Catalan cuisine, to which he brought a modern style whilst simultaneously introducing French influences.

Culinary virtuoso Xavier Pellicer is also an advocate of Catalan cuisine, which he takes to new heights with modern preparation methods and innovative ideas. Unlike the self-taught Santamaria, Pellicer started learning his craft at the bottom and worked his way up. His training at the Sant Pol de Mar hotel and catering school in Barcelona was followed by stints in some of Europe's top restaurants, such as Arzak in San Sebastián and Carré des Feuillants in Paris. In 1993 he finally ended up at Can Fabes, where he worked side by side with Santi Santamaria for six years as chef de cuisine. In 1999 he got the opportunity to open his own restaurant, which he seized, and opened ABaC. He also quickly attracted the attention of the restaurant critics. He was awarded a Michelin star in the first year after founding his restaurant in Barcelona's old town. The second followed in 2008. In September 2010 he moved to Can Fabes as chef de cuisine and co-director. Pellicer's creative cuisine, which has been enjoyed by the Spanish royal family, delights with its unusual flavours, colours and textures. This is reflected in his classic "crab cake", which he created at ABaC: diced avocado with crab meat, chives and red chilli, brilliant green basil sorbet, accentuated with a few drops of lemon oil.

Gourmets find exciting and delicious creations on the menu at Can Fabes in Sant Celoni. It's hardly surprising, because the combination of master chef Santi Santamaria and his new, old chef de cuisine Xavier Pellicer could only result in one thing – Catalan cuisine that cannot be bettered, a formula that works every time for gourmets and in which the name of Santi Santamaria will live on forever.