YOU ’ RE KNOWN FOR LOVING OLD MAGIC , WHAT IS IT ABOUT OLDER MAGIC THAT ’ S SO INTERESTING TO YOU ? I ’ m always surprised at how few magicians really dive into the old stuff . Old magic comes with amazing stories and history already there . The effects have been worked on for centuries before you and when you pick up what is there , you can kind of look back at its track record and see how people felt about it . This isn ’ t always the case , but I find that classic stuff leaves you with so much rich information to use or ignore , and the old stuff is begging to be dusted off . There were such great times when people had to make stuff for themselves that is so original ; it truly blows my mind . I ’ m not sure what more you could want out of magic ! There ’ s also always room for improvement and if it ’ s old enough , there ’ s no recording of the magician performing it originally . This is important to me because I don ’ t want to have an imperfect idea of what the trick really looked like , I ’ d rather assume the old masters were flawless and then try to copy what I imagine it had to have looked like in their hands .
HOW DID YOU COME TO PERFORM INTERNATIONALLY ? That ’ s a great question . I actually got inspired to travel because of Anthony Bourdain and his travel and food shows . I love food so much that I really made a decision to be able to travel and eat the best food in the world . I hadn ’ t really traveled that much before and my first big tour was in Scandinavia . It was the most eye-opening experience to eat all this amazing food , that was so foreign to me , with new friends that were so eager to share their culture . After that I just knew that I had to keep traveling , so I started to find ways to book lectures and workshops overseas . My good friend and fellow canuck Martin Saunders and his lovely wife Christina Nyman have been very supportive and helpful in arranging lectures and performances for me across Europe as well . My last event like that was actually visiting them both in Luxembourg and squeezing a lecture and workshop in there . Until recently I would be in Sweden at least once a year and always added a few extra days to visit Denmark . After the first few trips I really just started making it my focus to spend time in Europe and it ’ s been a main source of work ever since .
WHERE ’ S YOUR FAVORITE CITY FOR GREAT FOOD ? What a question ! It ’ s impossible to pick just one place because the cultures make such uniquely perfect food . However , I ’ d have to say that between Paris and Singapore you have an extraordinary amount of incredible food . Japan however , was so mind-blowing for great unique foods and flavors for me . Real ramen is really an experience and everything from street food , to 7-11 sushi to the finer dining , it ’ s all remarkably consistent in it ’ s taste and quality . The hawker stalls in Singapore are another food experience that I just will never forget . So much good food in one place ! I hope that answered the question . J . B Dumas , an extraordinarily talented French magician and magic consultant , truly brought me to the finest food I think I ’ ve ever eaten , opera cake from Lenôtre
YOU APPRECIATE GOOD FOOD , DO YOU ENJOY COOKING ? I absolutely love to cook . My very dear friend Derrick Chung and I are both hardcore foodies and we enjoy cooking elaborate meals or finding amazing food .
Derrick is based out of Montreal , and an incredible magician . We often talk magic and food for hours . He introduced me to sous-vide cooking and the idea of perfect temperatures . It ’ s again a new experience and changes how you look at food . I find cooking and magic has a lot of commonalities , like technique and execution , or styles and tastes of modern audiences . So for me , the best part of cooking is finding those moments and things that just take your food up a notch . Something as simple as finishing salt , which is just large flaky sea salt that you sprinkle on top last . More recently I ’ ve been learning how important truly fresh spices are . A good smoked paprika goes a long way !
YOU MENTIONED TECHNIQUE A MOMENT AGO , YOU ’ RE KNOWN FOR DIFFICULT SLEIGHT OF HAND . DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS OR TIPS ON SOME OF THE HARDER STUFF ?
16 SEPTEMBER | 2021