Interview with Pastry Chef Robert Eisler – "I know what I want to do and the road to get there may be winding, maybe I even take steps back sometimes, but the main direction is forward."

• Robert Eisler, the heart and mind behind the "Robert's Oven" brand, is a passionate confectioner who turned a hobby into a successful business.

With an unconventional story, Robert made the transition from the IT field to the dessert world, bringing a unique combination of creativity, curiosity and discipline to the laboratory. From sophisticated cakes to reinterpreted classic cakes, his creations, made together with his partner Carmen Murzea, have conquered sweets lovers from Brașov and beyond.

Through the detailed recipes on his website, RobertEisler.ro, the pastry courses he teaches and his active presence on social media, Robert shares with his followers his passion for the art of desserts.

Ranked third in the category Best Male Pastry Chef At the Chefi de Romania Awards Gala 2025, Robert Eisler continues to surprise and inspire, both in the laboratory and beyond.

1. We know you as a talented and inspired confectioner content creator also in this field. But, beyond the confectioner's tunic, who is the man Robert?

I'm just a curious guy who got into this field by accident. I joke about myself that I'm a generalist, and that somehow excuses me from not being really good at anything in particular.

I know a little bit about a lot of things, but I don't have the focus and patience to truly become a master in any one field. My eyes and mind are always on the lookout for new things, but I've learned to turn that into an advantage.

2. How difficult was the transition from a completely different field to making sweets? And why did you choose to take this step?

I actually like doing things with my hands and passion. "from childhood" was cooking. No one guided me to the kitchen, so (again by accident) I ended up doing ""networking", computers. Until life brought me back to food, only for dessert this time.

Being naive, I thought that making desserts and running a business in this field were the same thing…

3. What inspires you in the lab? How do you choose the next dessert for your portfolio? Do you prefer to innovate or reinterpret classics?

We have a very distorted image on social media of the pastry chef/chef as someone who is always doing something. super fancy and interesting. In fact, baking (and I suspect cooking too) is a very repetitive job.

I think that's why I slowly migrated towards content creation, which allows me to make something new much more often. Sometimes, the desserts I make for social media end up on the lab menu, but not often.

A product created for sale must meet many conditions that you don't care about as much when you make it for social media - costs, being relatively easy to make, shelf life, etc.

I'm in the fortunate position of being able to do (almost) only things that I find interesting, so that guides my work. I can start with a color that appeals to me, a texture, a dessert that I think I could make better. As long as it seems interesting to me, that's what I do.

4. What is your favorite ingredient?

What a tough question! I'd be cheating if I said "fruits"? Depending on how you use them, you can add texture, color, flavor...

5. Is there any dessert that holds the top position in your top favorites?

Again, difficult! I like simple desserts, because you have nowhere to "you are hiding"  in them: Tiramisu, Savarina, a simple cheesecake with fruit sauce.

6. We know you also teach courses. What is closer to your soul: the position of trainer or working in the laboratory?

I think all three go together: the lab work, the social media part, and the classes. Without any of them, the rest would be weaker.

To be honest, I feel the most free when I create for social media, because the pressure is minimal. The courses give me the chance to interact directly with other passionate people and share what I consider to be confectionery done right, and the lab work helps me understand things with a depth that only repetition can give you. There is always something to improve…

Each piece has its own charm and I wouldn't give up any of them.

7. This year, at Chefi De România Awards Gala 2025, you won 3rd place in the Best Male Pastry Chef category. What was the impact on Robert the professional? But on Robert the human being?

I don't know by what mistake I ended up there, because such events (and here I'm not necessarily referring to the Chefi de România Gala) seem more political to me, and I'm not a good diplomat. It was the first gala in the field that I attended, so I was honored by the invitation.

Whether we want to admit it or not, we all like to receive recognition from people we admire. That being said, I didn't deserve this award and I'm definitely not the 3rd best confectioner in Romania.

8. Maybe not everyone knows about children's author Robert Eisler. Tell us a little about how you got involved with this project?

Again, he's a much-talked-about author of books. It was something completely different from anything I'd done before, and I think that's what attracted me. I don't even know exactly how this idea started: from an impulse that I didn't think about too much, for sure!

For me, the easiest part was the actual writing, but I underestimated what publishing meant. I was lucky enough to collaborate with some really cool people who helped me a lot and from whom I learned a lot, like Andreea Costăchescu and illustrator Bianca Anton, and the book went surprisingly well, considering it was self-published.

As with all my projects, the journey was more important, the things I learned, the relationships I created. If I ever become famous, I'll release another one!

9. What motivates you to move forward with your projects, especially when maybe not everything is going the way you would like?

I try to be as disciplined as possible and not wait for motivation. It doesn't always work out for me, but if I waited for motivation, I wouldn't do half of the things I do now.
And problems arise all the time: if we stumble at every one, we won't get anywhere. I know what I want to do and the road to get there may be winding, maybe I even take steps back sometimes, but the main direction is forward.

Interview conducted by Gabriela Dan, Editor-in-Chief of Arta Albă

Read on White Art and: Recipe – White Chocolate Fig Tart