When hearing the word “chocolate”, what comes to your mind first? Aaahhhh, …ohhhhh, wonderful, delicious, sensual….. Those are just the most common adjectives and utterings I usually hear.
I had the same thoughts and feelings when I started my apprenticeship of Pastry Arts almost a quarter of a century ago in Austria and learned from scratch what it means to temper chocolate, enrobe or hand dip confections, create new recipes and flavour combinations, transforming chocolate into decoration items and seasonal products like easter bunnies and Christmas Santas.
For years, I worked nearly every day with the medium chocolate and finally entered the “upper league” in the craftsmanship being a Master Pastry Chef, Master Chocolatier and Master Sculptor and as such am sharing my dedication, love and passion with others in my profession as a Head Chocolatier and privately, as a chocolate artist.
I am one of few in the world who are jumping between these borders and I love combining different techniques from the kitchen/production side and the art works.
The results may be seen in showpieces for buffets or in individual hand-carved pieces of art which sometimes require up to 300 hours of working time on a single art work - made for special events, upon corporate requests and individual orders - while exploring new fields of art and work.
I also did several chocolate projects for TV, carving workshops with hundreds of students and chocolate body paintings on stage as Live Performances. By the way, as one of those special performances which were shown on TV, since 2008, I hold the current world record for the largest chocolate Santa Claus in the world (3.65 meters).
Reading this, you may guess that for me, chocolate has been and will be both, pleasure and pain. Having tasted more than 200 hundred different types of chocolate from all over the world, which is sometimes great, e.g. when eating Zokoko chocolate from Sydney but sometimes it is disappointing if I taste chocolate which has a low flavour profile or if cheaper fat was added and not cocoa butter which it is supposed to be.
However, chocolate is always a luxury good which we should appreciate and should not forget that a lot of people in the world suffer of hunger while we are lucky being able to enjoy it.
Working sometimes for months in the pre-preparation process of a major event or competition means sleepless nights, 18-hour working days, no week-ends and loosing up to 5 kilos of body weight. What for?
In the end, all for the sake of creating an outstanding showpiece in chocolate which allows me growing bigger than myself and carving for hours is like a meditation during which I forget time and space.
In the suffering moments of the work process, I call the jungle spirits for help which delivered the cocoa beans “Theobroma cacao”, the “Food of the Gods” how the ancient Mayans called them.
Every day, I eat a piece of chocolate and every day, I am appreciating it again and again and again…
Life is beautiful!
Written by Gerhard Petzl
WACS Global Master Chef
P.S.: A last advice: EAT MORE CHOCOLATE!
P.P.S.: In emergency cases, call for help under: www.ilovechocolate.at
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