A prominent university reached out to Chicago Culinary FX, the custom branch of the Chicago School of Mold Making, to recreate an iconic bronze statue in the miniature form of an 8” chocolate figurine.  The client explained they wanted to give chocolate replicas of the ‘founding father’ to their largest private donors at an upcoming fundraising gala. We were eager to show them what we could do to create their custom chocolate university donor gifts.

Recreating the Statue in Miniature

The client sent us a detailed collection of photographs of the 10-foot tall bronze statue. From there, our creative studio worked like a special effects studio, hand sculpting in clay as many of the original bronze details as possible.  When the client reviewed the miniature sculpture with all of its exacting details and facial features, the client responded with a very simple email, “WOW”.

Finding the right Chocolatier

When the artisan silicone molds for chocolate casting were made, we knew it would take a special pastry chef familiar with silicone molds to handle all of the chocolate work. We gladly reached out to National Pastry Champion, Executive Pastry Chef & Chocolatier David Ramirez. Upon receiving the silicone molds at his shop in Florida, David’s team began casting more than 500 chocolate statues.

Custom Thermo-formed shells

Since the chocolates needed to be shipped a long distance from his shop in Florida, we determined it was necessary to create custom thermoformed plastic shells to protect the irregular shaped statuettes. With our new thermoform division up and running, we developed a process to create precise, form-fitted clear hard plastic packaging to keep the chocolate secure and protected from breakage.

In the end, the teamwork between Chicago Culinary FX and David Ramirez Chocolates resulted in the creation of more than 500 hyper-realistic, gold-luster dusted statues for the client’s event.  Shinning as bright as polished bronze, the university donors were amazed by their elegant chocolate statues.