Werner Schmidt's enthusiasm for his craft is limitless.
"The Candy Man" believes strongly in the magic of tasty treats and the confectionery arts, both in their ability to bring joy as well as their power as a healing tool.
His exuberance is translated into a constant willingness to share, either through the generous act of baking for others, by unselfishly passing on recipes, or leading community demonstrations or workshops.
"There's so many stories I could tell you," the 77-year-old says. The married, father of three who resides in North Vancouver has vivid memories of his life to date. From growing up as an orphan in Germany during the Second World War to his early days in Canada in the 1960s as an assistant pastry chef at Hotel Vancouver, his recollections are as rich as the icing on his cakes.
"You know what? They laughed at me when I came to Hotel Vancouver because I couldn't (speak) English. It was a really tough time you know. And two weeks later I laughed," Schmidt says, explaining that's all it took for his talents to be noticed and splashed all over the local newspapers. "The Province, the Sun, you name it. The chef came to me and said, 'Werner you get a room.' I had a room, I got a key, I got everything free," he says, of his fast and furious rise to the top.
Adept at baking as well as cake decorating, sugar blowing, and chocolate and marzipan art, Schmidt's accomplished professional career saw him undergo training and find work in Germany and Switzerland, and go on to work in Canada at a number of high-profile hotels, on cruise ships, a major grocery store chain and run his own bakery. He has come out on top in countless competitions, and created many high-profile pieces that received media coverage - for example, a full scale chocolate sasquatch and black bear made of icing, and marzipan replicas of political figures.
These days it's not uncommon for the master baker to lead workshops or give demonstrations to audiences enthralled by his skill, or to see his home kitchen overflowing with works in progress. Not for sale, rather, Schmidt regularly donates his creations to local centres, like Evergreen House at Lions Gate Hospital, something he's done for the last 20 years. Schmidt asks nothing for his time, with the exception of funds to at times cover his material costs.
"I do a lot of demonstrations. It's not the money, it's not the things, it's not the show," he says.
Schmidt recalls one recent demonstration, where at its completion, the room cleared out with the exception of one woman in a wheelchair who approached him. "She came to me and said, 'You know, Werner, you just healed me.' She said, 'This is touching.' This is power, believe me. If I could help that lady for one hour to forget about the pain, this is nice. So that's why," he says of his continued motivation. He also draws inspiration from his audiences, who always ask to see more.
Schmidt's latest creation is a towering Halloween themed work that took the last few months to create. Partially edible, the piece is made of marzipan, icing sugar, gum paste and chocolate. It contains 165 characters - an impressive assortment of pumpkins, witches, ghouls and cats included.
As per usual, the piece was donated to Evergreen House.
"I do it actually every year, not just Halloween. I always have something for Evergreen, always something nice for the old people.
They're so happy to see that," he says.
Rather than take a rest, the unstoppable force has already turned his creative eye to the next major holiday just around the corner, with a collection of Santas, dogs, cats, candles and other themed décor ready and waiting to entertain his next willing audience and their shared sweet tooths.
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