Chocolate Carving Egret

This Egret chocolate showpiece was my first chocolate carving and was created from a twelve pound block of dark chocolate with ten percent vegetable shortening added to give it a softer and eminently more workable consistency. 

However, as a result of the shortening's higher melting point the chocolate tended to become rather thick as it was tempered and created a challenge in handling so that air bubbles were not incorporated.  To avoid this problem vegetable oils may used instead. 

To finish chocolate sculptures, I typically wipe the surface with a warm damp cloth to return the luster and then spray lightly with an aerosolized cocoa butter spray.

Originally made for a pastry competition, this piece served as the chocolate centerpiece for a dessert platter that was part of an entry that received a gold medal.  The contest was 1500 miles away in Florida so it was packed in a cardboard box surrounded by foam peanuts and included with the rest of the entry in a large wooden shipping crate. 

The crate was loaded into the back of a friend's beat-up camper covered pickup at 3:00 in the morning with one third of it protruding from the back.  We drove two hours in the midst of a snow storm to the airport where it was loaded as airfreight onto the same plane in which I would be traveling.  The plane was almost immediately delayed and then continued to be delayed for over 6 hours.  Upon landing it was discovered that the reason for the delay was the Challenger shuttle disaster.