Wacky World of Choc Wednesdays: Creepy Chocolate Baby Heads

Baby heads made of white chocolate, from cake artist Annabel de Vetten.

The world of chocolate, ever wacky, does not disappoint. This week’s story involves a cake artist who “creates edible chocolate baby heads from life-size moulds.” The UK’s Daily Mail has the details.

Wacky World of Choc Wednesdays: Cadbury Dairy Milk Thumbs Up

How’s this for the wacky world of choc?

Cadbury Dairy Milk brand, which has a long history of trying to outdo itself with lively stunts and advertisements, recently launched a fan appreciation campaign in celebration of reaching one million fans on its UK Facebook page. So what did they do this time? They commissioned a crew of trademarked-Cadbury-purple-clad sculptors to fashion a giant thumbs up version of the Facebook “Like” button out of 3 tons of Cadbury Dairy Milk bars. Then they broadcast the whole shabang via Facebook livestream over the course of fourty-eight hours.

Here’s a short video (just over one minute long) detailing the building process:

Cadbury donated all the chocolate to a company working to develop renewable fuels, where scientists will use it to continue their research. Clearly, research on chocolate is where it’s at.

Itching to see more of Cadbury’s stunts? You can head over to the brand’s UK Facebook page to check out the 30 foot tall Magnificent Musical Chocolate Fountain they’ve got going on in magical Joyville right now. Or check out this past Bittersweet Notes post on Chocolate Stop Motion Videos for an example of one of Cadbury’s stickier ad campaigns.

And while you’re at it, readers, visit Bittersweet Notes’ fledgling Facebook page and “Like” away for chocolatey updates in your News Feed. I promise to do something insane when the page reaches 1 million fans.

Wacky World of Choc Wednesdays: Alinea’s Chocolate, Pumpkin Pie

Read:

via @Gachatz of Alinea

Read:

Achatz and his team at Alinea have earned the position as best restaurant in North America for staying ahead of the curve and constantly being innovative. As a diner, when you sit down for that mutli-course meal, you want your mind blown. This new dessert, dubbed “chocolate, pumpkin pie,” was inspired by the film The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover. Even as a mere viewer, you will have your mind blown. Just watch.

via Eater Chicago

Watch:

Wacky World of Choc Wednesdays: The Great Bitburg Chocolate Spill of 2011


Uh oh!

First, the good news — no one was hurt.

Now, the bad news — 21 tons of chocolate sauce were forever lost near Bitburg, Germany, when the truck in which they were being transported overturned. The accident, which spilled hundreds of 25 liter buckets filled with liquid white and milk schokolade onto a busy roadway, blocked traffic for several hours, halting thousands of drivers. The liquid chocolate quickly hardened and coated the road surface upon exposure to the fresh air. A group of 36 firefighters worked to remove the chocolate by spraying it with fire hoses. Property damage is estimated at 100,000 euros or more.

The area is expected to smell like chocolate for a while, at least until the remaining chocolatey puddles evaporate or wash away.

According to this article, “Driver Marek Kolvichi, 28, who was unhurt in the spill, said: ‘I don’t think I ever want to see or smell another bar of chocolate in my life.’” That is perhaps the most tragic part of this story. Keep calm and carry on, Mr. Kolvichi, and may your love for chocolate return to you soon.

You can watch a video of the aftermath here (narration in German).

Wacky World of Choc Wednesdays: Chocolate, China, and Basketball

Here’s something fun for sporty chocolate fans. Beantown favorite Paul Pierce, of the (17-time World Champion!!!) Boston Celtics, on a recent trip to China, was immortalized with a commemorative chocolate figurine.

On August 26, Pierce, also known as The Truth, tweeted a photograph of the figurine, captioning it “The chocolate Truth.” Here it is:

He also tweeted the following image of himself with his commemorative chocolate figurine:

This is totally awesome. It also raises a lot of questions. How is it that, in the past several years, basketball has gained such popularity in China that an NBA star’s visit would bring about a promotional figurine? Why might a figurine in China be made out of chocolate? (See also China’s Chocolate War.) Moreover, it seems plain to me, but others might not agree — racial factors are at play here, intentionally or otherwise, are they not? Put more simply, would Larry Bird’s figurine have been made out of white chocolate? For more on the complexities of chocolate and race, see Cadbury’s ill-fated advertising campaign in 2009. Oh, and then again in 2011. This is just the tip of the iceberg. How does this figurine exemplify or differ from the other ways that chocolate is used in ritual or commemoration? And, for those of you who experience a certain sadness when eating chocolate bunnies, would you do the humane thing and eat Pierce’s figurine head first?

Here are nearly five minutes of excellent reasons for Pierce’s commemoration:

While we’re at it, check out Pierce’s inspirational campaign:

Paul Pierce’s Truth on Health campaign empowers and encourages young people to lead healthier lives by providing them with the information, resources, and tools necessary to become more active and physically fit. To learn more, visit www.truthonhealth.org.

Yeah, the world of chocolate is wacky.

Next Page »

  • About

    Bittersweet Notes is an open source research project on chocolate, culture, and the politics of food. I invite you to join me as I explore the story of chocolate and the life stories of those involved with chocolate at its many stages of production and consumption.

  • Stay connected