To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Qzina Specialty Foods has set a new Guinness Record for the World’s Largest Chocolate Sculpture, by creating a sweet replica of a Mayan temple weighing 18,239 pounds.
Qzina chose a Mayan theme for their impressive project, because the ancient civilization played a crucial role in the discovery of chocolate. They were among the first to cultivate Cacao trees and acknowledge the true potential of the cocoa bean. They practically worshiped cocoa and praised it as the food of the Gods. So, as a tribute to Mayan contribution in the evolution of chocolate, Qzina’s corporate pastry chef, Francois Mellet and pastry artist Stephane Treand decided to create a scale model of the Temple of Kukulkan, at Chichen Itza.
Built proportionally to the ancient temple’s true size, the chocolate pyramid created by Qzina also features all the details of the original landmark, down to the number of steps and panels. With an impressive base measuring 10 feet by 10 feet, and a height of six feet, this delicious masterpiece is exactly one-thirtieth the size of the original building. Itweighs a whopping 18,239 pounds, with the sculpture’s base alone weighing over 3,000 pounds. Considering the previous record, a chocolate model of the Dome of Milan, weighed “just” 7,500 pounds, it’s safe to say this new attempt blew it right out of the water.
“Breaking a Guinness World Record for building the largest chocolate sculpture will be Qzina’s greatest masterpiece yet. We studied Mayan pyramids at great lengths to create an exact replica of the Temple Kukulkan at Chichen Itza to honor the original chocolatiers.It was important for us to create something memorable in celebration of our 30th anniversary and the grand opening of the Qzina Institute of Chocolate & Pastry”, said Richard Foley, founder and CEO of Qzina.
The giant chocolate sculpture will be on display at the Qzina Institute of Chocolate & Pastry, in Irvine, California, starting June 4 and until December 21, 2012, when the Mayan calendar comes to an end. If the world doesn’t end, the pyramid’s method of destruction is yet to be determined.
