Making Time for the Art of Chocolate

Chef Martin Chiffers, former UK Pastry Team President and Executive Pastry Chef at The Savoy London, recently taught a 2-day masterclass at Culinary Arts Academy’s Lucerne campus. The objective was to create a chocolate display showpiece hand-designed by Chef Chiffers and inspired by Swiss watchmaking heritage.

 

The class began with each student hand-sketching the watch design followed by sculpting the major structural components of the showpiece.

 

Using exclusively chocolate, the next step was sculpting the more intricate parts of the showpiece. It was a meticulous process that took many hours to complete – leaving our dedicated students working in the kitchens well after nightfall.

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Chef Martin's Masterclass was an eye-opener - especially for an amateur like myself. Prior to this, I genuinely believed I could only draw a stick man but with the way he explained things and demonstrated how to illustrate showpieces, I was able to draw the watch in great detail and also construct it from scratch, which was amazing. Although we squeezed a three day workshop into two days, it didn't feel rushed and we all managed to completed a timeless showpiece (pun intended :) ) with no accidents.
Swiss Pastry & Chocolate Arts Student, Selasi Gbormittah

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On day 2 of the Masterclass, the students carefully painted the delicate components of their +1 metre tall creation and carefully positioned them together. After completion, the students made a heart-pounding trek across the street with their artwork carefully in tow to display the final product for all to see.

 

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We were delighted to witness new heights of creativity and chocolate magic delivered by our Term 3 and 4 Swiss Pastry & Chocolate Arts students. Thanks to the strong support of our in-house Chef Instructors, and visiting Executive Pastry Chef Martin Chiffers, our students were able to go above and beyond their own expectations, creating beautiful Swiss chocolate luxury timepieces. Students on campus, the staff, as well as every visitor are since impressed by their excellent creations on display on our Lucerne Campus.
Max Behesht, Assistant Dean at César Ritz Colleges Switzerland, Lucerne

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