Sydney students impress with giant chocolate showpiece display

Students from Le Cordon Bleu Sydney’s Advanced Diploma of Hospitality Management (Pâtisserie) recently showcased their talents in a series of spectacular Xmas showpieces for the foyer of Parkroyal Hotel, Darling Harbour.

The impressive seven metre display took 600 hours to build, involving 4 chef lecturers, and 12 students. Built entirely from Callebaut chocolate, who sponsored the event, the fragile showpieces required a massive 150kg of chocolate.

student chocolate Showpieces

detailed craftmanship

The project is a combined initiative between Parkroyal, Darling Harbour and Le Cordon Bleu to enhance and contextualise learning outcomes to suit industry needs. It benefits students by providing an opportunity to understand the planning, logistics, preparation and delivery involved in a real-life commissioned brief, while developing their mastery of chocolate work and showpieces.

John McFadden, Area Executive Chef, Pan Pacific Hotels & Park Royal Hotels said: “This is the perfect platform to showcase these students’ exceptional talent and the hard work put in by their teachers. I feel very honoured to have partnered with Andre Sandison and the Le Cordon Bleu team to bring this project to life.”

finishing touches to display

Group Work in action