: Esti Garcia

Moving from Colombia to Sydney in 2007, Esti studied cooking and worked in various restaurants (such as Rockpool Bar and Grill, Porteno,  Bodega Tapas Bar and Bodega 1904. Those experiences raised his interest for dessert making which he decided to take to another level by studying at Savour Chocolate and Patisserie School in Melbourne.

A desire to travel and enrich his experiences saw him go to Spain and work at Bubo Patisserie in Barcelona where under the guidance of Carles Mampel Esti learnt the importance of every little details, colour, flavour or texture when making pastries and cakes.

Travelled for a few months more around Spain and in San Sebastian and with some fellow Colombians opened a pop up restaurant to share their love for the food of their country.

It was his last stop at L’ecole du Grand Chocolat Valrhona at Tain L’hermitage in France before returning to Australia that saw his love for chocolate turn into a passion which he now shares with his adoptive country.

A strong believer in using only products of the highest standard, helping local artisans and communities along the way his work ethics are all about hard work, finesse, respect for ingredients and uniqueness.

Esti was recently crowned the winner for best plated dessert award at Savour Patissier of the Year 2018 before a world class judging panel which included Frank Haasnoot, Melissa Coppel, Jerome Landrieu and Paul Kennedy.

We are lucky to have Esti Garcia in our kitchen to show us how to make his delicious chocolate creations for Easter.