Chocolate mosque is feast for the eyes, not palate

Chocolate mosque is feast for the eyes, not palate

By Monika Winarto

JAKARTA (JP): Chocoholics be warned. The delectable food has
been carved into the shape of a mosque for this Ramadhan, and the
model now graces the lobby of the Shangri-La Hotel in Central
Jakarta.

Yes, its 2 meters by 2 meters are made entirely from
chocolate. But for hygiene concerns alone, chocoholics among us
should resist temptation to sample a piece -- already on show
from Dec. 31, it will continue to be subject to prods, pokes and
curious stares through the first day of next month.

Another reason to refrain is that it is made from a
particular type of chocolate, colata, which is manufactured
exclusively for use in carving displays and models.

And unless you have arteries of steel, a piece of it should
not pass your lips -- milk used in most chocolate candy is
replaced by pure coconut oil in colata.

"It dries quicker and is strong," commented one of the food
and beverage artists, Herry Pujantoro, who was in charge of
production and the making of the sculpture.

Plan engineer I Nyoman Sukarji said the hotel had a display
every year to celebrate Ramadhan but he believed this was the
best ever.

Simplicity of theme is the strength of the display.

In previous years, grand mosques, such as Jakarta's own
Istiqlal, had been the models. But due to the recent economic
slide, a return to fundamentals was selected as most fitting.

The mosque is of a common design that could be found anywhere;
appropriately, it is put in a standard village setting of people
and adjacent buildings.

Among the most difficult part of its production was the
carving of human figures for the mosque tableau. These represent
the faithful from all walks of life, allowing Moslem visitors to
the hotel to recognize an important scene from their lives.

But the display is not only for their benefit. Foreign guests
at the hotel have reportedly been delighted by the mosque and the
level of artistic skill required in its making.

Six food and beverage artists worked on it for six weeks,
juggling Christmas and New Year assignments. Yudi Nugraha, in
charge of the 24 figurines, said it had been a valuable lesson.

"I suppose we are more experienced now than when we started
and know how to handle our chocolate."

The chocolate comes in 4 centimeter thick bars, and the
figurines are heavy. The mosque's domes were created by pouring
melted chocolate on styrofoam. The foundation is made from thick
white chocolate, with sprinkled green sugar on the top.

White chocolate is softer and easier to work with, the artists
said. But they still chose to make the figurines with the colata.

These towers on either side of the main mosque building are
lit with a low wattage light bulb, as is the inside of the
building. The artists asked an engineer from Shangri-La to help
them with the installation of these lights.

The light enhances the white shade and gives a soft, golden
glow to the display. For a final effect, they applied glaze spray
over the entire work to soften and shine its appearance.

The model was constructed in an air-conditioned room for fear
of the chocolate melting. This is one of the reasons it is
displayed in the cool front foyer of the hotel, facing the
entrance door.

This also gives visitors a peak as soon as they arrive at the
hotel.

The artists have cleverly built the display around a wooden
pillar which separates the lounge area and the rest of the lobby.

The mosque was not set up as a one-off draw for more visitors
to the hotel, according to the hotel's public relations officer,
Romy Herlambang.

More important, she stressed, was to get into the spirit of
Ramadhan through a simple gesture.

"It is the ambience that is important," she stressed
repeatedly.