- Title: Too pretty to eat? Belgian chocolatiers present extravagant Easter eggs
- Date: 29th March 2023
- Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (MARCH 28, 2023) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** ATTENDEE OF EASTER EGG EXHIBITION TAKING PICTURE OF CHOCOLATE EASTER EGG IN THE FORM OF FABERGE EGG ATTENDEES GATHERED AT THE EXHIBITION PEOPLE LOOKING AT CHOCOLATE EGG DECORATED WITH FLOWERS DETAIL OF FLOWERS VARIOUS OF ATTENDEES LOOKING AT EASTER EGGS (SOUNDBITE) (French) CHOCOLATIER AND ORGANISER OF "BEL'OEUF" EXHIBITION, MARC DUCOBU, SAYING: "The aim (of the exhibition) is to bring together chocolatiers and pastry chefs, we invited 20 of them for this first edition, bringing together people who are passionate and love art and tastes and sharing. It's a moment of sharing, it's not a competition, it's not a selection, it's really getting together the 20 of us and sharing our creations with the public." CHOCOLATE SCULPTURES / CHOCOLATIERS POSING FOR GROUP PICTURE CHOCOLATIERS POSING FOR GROUP PICTURE CHOCOLATE EGG SCULPTURE REPRESENTING THE EARTH VARIOUS OF HOTEL GUEST, MILLER FARINHOLT (9), TAKING PICTURE OF CHOCOLATE SCULPTURES (SOUNDBITE) (English) HOTEL GUEST VISITING EXHIBITION, MILLER FARINHOLT (9), SAYING: "Definitely! I would buy it because it's pretty and I would also buy it to eat." (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHOCOLATIER, FREDERIC BLONDEEL, SAYING: "We wanted to represent the world. I think it's an important fact today with everything that's happening and everybody has to take care about the world. So that's why I have the title "Heat Me Up, I'm Melting, Baby". We had to work one day for the small egg because we carved everything by hand, it's not done by a machine, everything is done by hand. And we worked one day, one day and a half for the second, big egg." EASTER EGG / CHOCOLATIER MICHAEL LEWIS-ANDERSON TALKING ABOUT HIS FABERGE-STYLE EGG LEWIS-ANDERSON TALKING DETAILS OF EGG (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHOCOLATIER, MICHAEL LEWIS-ANDERSON, SAYING: "There's roughly about 45 kilos of chocolate inside, it's quite heavy, actually. Transportation was a little bit scary, because obviously, as you see it's going up and you don't want it to have the tower of Pisa effect, falling over in Brussels, you know." EXHIBITION ONGOING (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHOCOLATIER, MICHAEL LEWIS-ANDERSON, SAYING: "What's difficult with chocolate is not only the temperature, it's also the humidity. Also, chocolate can take, attract different smells or flavours, and then you have to be very careful with that. But for example, if this was in front of the sun, then obviously it would melt. But the heavy part of it is actually this (lower) part, which is a support of the egg. The egg is actually hollow and it's quite strong. It's like an egg, a real egg, you know, it's the same concept. With a real egg, if you try to break it like that, you cannot break it. And it's the same with a chocolate egg, it's a matter of science and physics, I think." TIMELAPSE OF EXHIBITION (MUTE) ATTENDEE SMELLING CHOCOLATE EGG VARIOUS OF EASTER EGG WITH DRAWERS COMING OUT OF IT VARIOUS OF BRUSSELS SKYLINE
- Embargoed: 12th April 2023 13:09
- Keywords: Chocolate Easter chocolatier
- Location: Brussels, BELGIUM
- City: Brussels, BELGIUM
- Country: Belgium
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Europe
- Reuters ID: LVA001116529032023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Twenty top Belgian chocolate chefs exhibited a collection of outlandish Easter creations on Tuesday (March 28) from a jewel-encrusted Faberge-style egg to an Easter Island moai statue.
The 50-60 centimetres tall eggs -- all edible but not for sale -- were exposed on plinths worthy of an art museum in a chic Brussels hotel where members of the public could come and meet the chefs.
It took British-born chocolatier Michael Lewis-Anderson only one day to make his royal blue Faberge-style egg using 45 kilos of chocolate.
"Transportation was a little bit scary, because obviously... you don't want it to have the tower of Pisa effect," he told Reuters.
Across the room, award-winning chocolate chef Frederic Blondeel said he had been inspired by climate change to make an egg within an egg, both decorated with a map of the world cut-outs and called "Heat Me Up, I'm Melting, Baby".
"Everybody has to take care about the world," he said.
After the opening day, the eggs were dispatched around the hotel. The exhibition runs until after Easter.
(Production: Bart Biesemans, Johnny Cotton) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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