Photos: Chefs’ Eco-Friendly Christmas Crib

December 22, 2023

Five chefs have served up a festive treat by creating an eco-friendly Christmas crib at their shared apartment in Pembroke.

Bryan Rebello, Prinol Dias, Mervin Fernandes, Dixon Lopes and Abhijit Perera spent more than a month piecing together the intricate 7ft by 3ft crib depicting the Nativity, using eggshells, foam boxes, cardboard, wood shavings and dried tree branches.

The close friends, who have lived together in Bermuda for several years, said creating Christmas cribs is a much-loved tradition in their homeland in Mumbai.

They have invited locals to view their masterpiece during the run-up to Christmas.

Mr Dias, a pastry chef at Crow Lane Bakery in Hamilton, said the crib, proudly on display in their living room, was the brainchild of Mr Rebello, a pastry chef at Huckleberry restaurant at the Rosedon Hotel.

“Bryan works as a chef, and even though he works long hours, making the crib was a priority,” Mr Dias told Bernews.

“Bryan started the work for the crib almost a month ago with planning and precision.

“Every night after work, we put in an hour or two and about five hours a day on the weekend.”

The 36-year-old said they purposefully used sustainable materials to build their crib.

“Recently, there has been an increasing shift towards sustainability and environmentally friendly practices,” he said. “We used materials that people generally throw away.”

Mr Dias said the crib has helped keep the spirit of Christmas alive and well in their household.

“We’re away from home, our families, but this crib brings us together and keeps that Christmas feeling alive,” he added. “That’s why people make these types of cribs.

“Usually, in Mumbai, people make them even bigger in their backyards, but we didn’t have that type of space.”

The Christmas crib is at 20 Marsh Folly Road in Pembroke.