Wed, March 18, 2009
Looking like an exquisite glass sculpture - this is in fact a pudding.
It is one of the incredible entries of an international patisserie competition held in Tokyo.
Yes patisserie has come a long way since the cream bun - but who would have thought it would have reached these dizzying heights of creativity.
Chefs train long and hard to acquire the artistic skills to recreate scenes of animals and flowers out of boiled sugar and chocolate.
Spectators at the competition could hardly believe their eyes - and somehow no one was talking about eating any of the entries.
(SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) MOTOKO MARUKO, 60, SPECTATOR, SAYING:
"I find it very interesting to see the combinations, colors and materials that I had never seen before."
The competition lasted a gruelling 13 hours split over two days.
Chefs from around the world competed in categories, including sugar showpiece, chocolate showpiece, plated deserts and chocolate bonbons.
The winner was Team Japan with its show-stopping and elegant entries setting the bar for future competitions very high indeed.
Penny Tweedie, Reuters.
