In the Olympic Spirit of Chocolate

By Alexandra Koktsidis The Olympics are now over, and all sorts of world records have been broken. Athletes set records in events like swimming, track and field, and archery, even for most medals ever won. We’ve all heard of Michael Phelps by now, but perhaps you haven’t heard of some of these kinds of records. Far from London, in the world of chocolate, another record was recently broken. Well, maybe not too far away, distance-wise. It was just a few days ago in Ukraine where the world’s largest picture made of chocolate was created for a local festival in the city of Yalta, according to Voice of Russia. Just over ninety-eight square feet and weighing almost a ton, the picture features a little boy holding an overflowing armful of candy. This work of chocolate art is set on display on the city’s waterfront. Also, back in June, QZina Foods, based in California, built the world’s largest chocolate sculpture - a Mayan temple sculpture weighing 18,239 pounds. The sculpture honors the Mayans who first discovered chocolate, and even features tiny detailed Mayan figurines, which you can see more pictures of here.

Photo Credit: QZina Foods

 

What other chocolate achievements are there? The World’s Finest Chocolate Company, from Chicago, Illinois currently holds the record for the largest chocolate bar, made in 2011. The bar is 3 feet tall, 21 feet long, and weighs 12,290 pounds.

Photo Credit: Denver Post

 

Previously, Armenia held record for largest chocolate bar: a 9,702 bar was made by The Grand Candy Factory in Yerevan, honoring the company's 10-year anniversary. In January of 2010, the record for the largest mug of hot chocolate was set in New York City. Over 10,000 free servings were distributed from a 7-foot wide mug that contained a total of 487 gallons of cocoa. The Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada is home to the world's largest chocolate fountain. A total of 2,100 pounds of melted chocolate makes its way from floor to ceiling through 500 feet of pipes, 24 hours a day. Sounds (and looks) like something from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. 

 

Melted milk, white, and dark chocolate flow through this complex chocolate fountain[/caption]

 

Finally, record for the world's largest chocolate bunny goes to South African artist Harry Johnson, who sculpted a 12 foot, 3 ton sculpture in 2010. Interestingly enough, it takes the form of the form of the Duracell Battery bunny. More information on how it was sculpted can be found at this site. So, who takes the gold? We'll leave it to the chocolate-lovers to decide, for the record.