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SCMP Reporter

Chefs from Hong Kong's top hotels and restaurants compete to 'outsculpt' each other for  an all-expenses-paid trip for two to the Alpine country

It is a sight that will make chocoholics melt in ecstasy - huge blocks of the finest Swiss chocolate chiselled into the most exquisite shapes by Hong Kong's best confectionery chefs.

The chefs, from the city's top hotels and restaurants, are competing against each other for an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Switzerland and their mouth-watering creations go on public display from  Sunday.

Up to 20 of the sculptures - each crafted out of two-kilogram blocks of Lindt chocolate - will be on show in Pacific Place's Park Court until next Wednesday, although the winning work will be chosen on the opening day.

The chocolate design competition and exhibition is the first of its kind to be staged in Hong Kong, and the challenge for the chefs is to create a chocolate sculpture inspired by the country the chocolate originated from - Switzerland.

So expect to see the Matterhorn, said Lindt Asia-Pacific regional sales and marketing manager Walter Marthaler. Expect to see cuckoo clocks and cows, but above all, he said, expect to see works of the most delicious inspiration imaginable.

'It is an ego thing,' he said. 'They want to show they are the best chef. They want to shine. They are craftsmen and they are artists.

'They are like painters competing against each other.'

The sculptures are a closely guarded secret, said Mr Marthaler's colleague, Simon Ho Lep-sang, regional sales and marketing executive for Lindt. 'It is like the works of Leonardo da Vinci. It is highly creative and it is always produced at the last moment,' Mr Ho said.

The contest is being

staged as part of a whirlwind schedule of events in a six-month campaign organised by the Consulate General of Switzerland called 'Switzerland Greets Hong Kong', aimed at raising awareness of Swiss brands in the city.

Starting with events as diverse as a Swiss film festival and an exhibition of watches last October, the ambitious programme continues until the end of March and includes concerts, fashion shows, forums, lectures and business and tourism promotions. This month, however, the emphasis is on mouth-watering Swiss cuisine.

While Pacific Place hosts the Swiss Chocolate Creations event, Great Food Hall and selected ParknShops are, from today  until January 30, hosting a 'Made in Switzerland' promotion of food specialities.

The inspiration for the chocolate competition came from a similar event in Dubai, according to Mr Marthaler, but the drive and enthusiasm to make it happen came from Swiss Consul-General Francois Barras, who he credited with being the engine behind the whole Switzerland Greets Hong Kong campaign.

'Obviously, Lindt is sponsoring this event for brand awareness, but we also want to help support our Swiss government which has made a big effort for this campaign,' he said.

'Our consulate has put so much effort to put Switzerland on the map in general, and not just for chocolate.'

The response from Hong Kong's confectionery chefs had been surprisingly good, Mr Ho said.

'This is peak season for the hotels and restaurants, starting from Christmas until Valentine's Day. We have sent out more than 20 invitations, and by last week we already had half of them telling us they will definitely take part.'

There are practical difficulties in staging an exhibition of chocolate, he pointed out - not least that the exhibits must not be allowed to melt.

'We will have to make sure it is reasonably cool, otherwise the chocolate may go a little bit sticky,' he said.

Then there is the question of having what the chefs involved would consider to be works of art on display in such a public place. Is there not a danger that the sculptures might be targeted - if not by people who want to steal them - then people who might want to take a bite?

Mr Ho thinks the risk is low. 'I don't know whether anyone would want to eat a chocolate exhibit that has been in a public area for four days,' he said.

Mr Marthaler believes the dazzling beauty of the works will deter anyone from wanting to sink their teeth into them, however appetising the chocolate may be.

'It is like chocolate Easter bunnies,' he said.

'Some children in Europe don't eat those Easter bunnies because they get emotionally attached to them, even though they are made to be eaten.'



Icons of Switzerland to come in the shape of finest chocolate