A fond farewell to Santi Santamaria

Hundreds of people, among them friends, family, and fellow chefs, gathered in Barcelona on Thursday to say goodbye to Santi Santamaria, who died from a heart attack on Tuesday in Singapore. Michelin-starred Santamaria, who was 53, collapsed while serving guests gathered to inaugurate the opening of Singapore's Marina Bay Sands resort.

Daniel Boulud, Guy Savoy and Wolfgang Puck, along with acclaimed Asian chefs Justin Quek and Tetsuya Wakuda, gathered on stage at a theater in Barcelona to pay their respects to Santamaria. The five had all opened restaurants at the 4-billion-euro resort. "Santi was crazy about cooking, his cooking, and he was crazy about the one thing we all love: great cuisine," said the Austrian-born Puck, famous for his two-Michelin-starred Spago Beverly Hills.

"I really think that Santi is looking down us and saying, you know, you guys should live your life the way I lived it - with passion for food, with passion for friends, passion for family, and with passion to live life they way you see as fit for yourself. With Santi you felt like he was your brother and your best friend."

Santamaria was widely acknowledged as the man who brought Catalan cooking to the world. His Can Fabes restaurant in Sant Celoni has been rated with three Michelin stars since 1994. He had three other eateries with Michelin stars to their name.

"My father was a fantastic chef, but he always said that to be a chef, first you have to be a person," said his daughter, Regina. "Those who had the opportunity to meet him will know that he was a fantastic husband, an incredible dad for my brother and myself and a marvelous grandfather [...] My father started in this business the same age as me now. So while I am very sad, I will find the strength to continue running the business. With the great team that we have in Singapore, we will continue what Santi loved and started."