Anyone walking into the foyer of the InterContinental Hotel around Christmas-time is likely to do a double take. A five-metre-high sculpture made entirely out of chocolate is not exactly a common sight and certainly adds an extra special measure to the festive spirit. The person behind this magnificent creation is Executive Pastry Chef Pierre Debono, who first initiated the tradition three years ago. Since then, together with the team of pastry chefs at the hotel he has been taking it to new heights.

“During my time working in the UK I saw how popular chocolate sculptures had become and when I returned to Malta I decided to experiment with them myself. The very first chocolate sculpture was installed at the InterContinental in December 2020, but I started planning it around July. Something like this cannot be finished in a month and, the bigger and more complicated the sculpture becomes, the more time and planning it needs,” Chef Pierre starts off.

Close-up of the five-metre chocolate work of art

And bigger and more complicated, this year’s sculpture certainly is. The 2020 creation was around 2.5 metres high; this year, it has doubled. As has the preparation time.

“We started planning this year’s sculpture in January. First I need to think about a concept that inspires me. Once that is finalised, we start planning the logistics and how we’re going to translate the idea into an actual, solid sculpture. Finally, around the end of November, the actual installation starts,” he explains.

This year’s sculpture certainly makes an impact, depicting a pretty Christmas village at the base. Rising from its centre is a traditional Christmas postbox, topped up by Santa Claus on his train. The sculpture is crowned by an actual 3D Christmas tree. Rather than taking the easy way out and expanding horizontally, Chef Pierre has chosen to create a veritable tower, adding vertical height to make the sculpture even more imposing. The entire sculpture is made up of eight different, inter-connecting pieces that make up what Chef Pierre describes as a “very complex design.”

Chef Pierre Debono and his chocolate sculpture, the third since he began the tradition in December 2020 

“Many others choose to create a sprawling village, but that has been done so many times now. The real challenge lies in adding height, and that’s what we’re doing. This is always our intention at InterContinental, to offer something that is different from what everyone else has,” he says with a smile.

In case you’re wondering, there’s no ‘cheating’ involved. While some chocolate sculptures hide wood or iron to help stabilise the structure, it is not the case here. The entire sculpture is made entirely out of chocolate, apart from the sugar paste figurines. And the only thing that is ‘hidden’ within the chocolate is a mechanical clock that actually shows the time.

The team of pastry chefs pose next to their edible work of art 

“Some people ask whether it would make more sense to add foreign materials for safety. But if it’s prepared well and you know what you’re doing, the chocolate is solid and strong enough. I use chocolate with 70 per cent cocoa bean for the base, which is where you need it to be strongest as it will be taking the weight of everything that comes on top,” Chef Pierre explains, adding that the higher the cocoa bean content, the stronger the chocolate.

For the higher parts of the structure, which don’t need to bear a lot of weight, he uses chocolate with a 50 - 55% cocoa content. How does the chocolate keep its shape? The secret, he tells me, lies in the tempering process. When followed precisely, this allows chocolate to keep its given shape indefinitely.

“We start by melting the chocolate and, as soon as the temperature reaches 47 degrees we start seeding. This involves adding more chocolate and blending it with the melted mixture to cool it down to 27 degrees. As soon as this happens, you heat it up once again to 31 degrees. Once you reach that temperature, you’re done and you can shape the chocolate as you wish because it will hold. There are various methods how to carry out chocolate tempering, but I find this to be the most reliable and precise,” he says.

Once this is done, the structure could stay in place indefinitely as long as the ambient temperature is kept between 22 and 23 degrees. Any higher than that, and the chocolate would start softening, causing the sculpture to destabilise.

“We start dismantling it on January 8, when the festivities officially reach an end. But in reality it could stay on indefinitely without coming to any damage.”

Which prompts the question: what happens after the sculpture is taken down? If the idea of wasting all that chocolate doesn’t bear thinking about, not to worry. Nothing is wasted, in fact, and the chocolate is recycled for the Easter sculpture. Because of course, there is an Easter sculpture too.

“The theme is completely different, naturally. And to see it, you wouldn’t imagine that only a couple of months earlier there was a Santa Claus, Christmas Tree and the whole works. We actually start working on that immediately, because it takes so long to get everything done well,” Chef Pierre continues.

Despite the sacrifice they bring with them, the whole team looks forward to working on these sculptures.

“We’re talking about the busiest times of the year. For the industry, Christmas brings with it a number of challenges in the ordinary course of events. And we add a complicated sculpture on top of that, but we all love it,” he chuckles.

Asked where he gets the inspiration to create these pieces, Chef Pierre says that it’s a bit of everything. Each year, he gives his imagination free rein. Every single part of the sculpture is handmade, and no pre-bought moulds are used, making the resulting design entirely unique.

“I view it as an artistic piece. As pastry chefs we’re not only concerned with the cooking and preparation. We are artists, using our creativity to create these sculptures. There are so many different skills involved in the creation of this piece, and every single member of the team really throws themselves into it. The 250 hours of work that go into its creation: they’re a result of our passion,” says Chef Pierre with a final smile.

All photos by InterContinental Malta