Zille unveils chocolate Zille

The first of its kind, the large chocolate canvas was modelled on Warhol's famous Marilyn Monroe piece and, in this instance, rather had four pictures of Premier Zille contained on one chocolate “work of art”.

“The challenge lay in the fact that every piece was made without any mould. I hand crafted every detail from a picture,” said Alfred Henry of the Lindt chocolate portrait of Premier Zille, which took five days to complete.

First of its kind

Located in Cape Town's De Waterkant, the new Chocolate Studio is said to be the first of its kind in the world - and the first to be fully endorsed and sponsored by the master Swiss Chocolatiers - offering specialised chocolate workshops for both chefs and enthusiasts.

Other Chocolate Studios are proposed for roll-out around the world in chosen locations.

The chocolate Zille

Henry began by building up Premier Zille's features and clothes with a Lindt chocolate paste made from white chocolate, glucose and inverted sugar, allowing for flexibility and a two-dimensional design.

From there, he painted the outline of her face and hair in white chocolate to create texture, while dark chocolate was used to obtain shadowing and definition of facial features. The pop-art styling was achieved through air-brushed layers of coloured cocoa butter and white chocolate.

“So the complete portrait is a combination of chocolate in different formats used to create different effects and textures,” said Henry.

Real demand

“We found there was a real demand for chocolate-specific workshops and courses,” said Lindt communications manager Laura du Preez. “The Chocolate Studio allows people not only to acquire a new skill, but also to experience the chocolate on an entirely new level.”

Chocolate Studio, Shop B104, Cape Quarter, Dixon Street, De Waterkant, Cape Town. www.chocolatestudio.co.za.