Just ahead of Easter, French pastry chefs and chocolatiers have hit upon a novel idea to raise money for charity -- an auction. But it's not just any old auction. This one takes full advantage of the skills of the chefs, as well as peoples' appetite for a sweet bite.
This is one Easter treat that won’t be part of any treasure hunt. One meter tall and weighing 60 kilos, this Obelix is made entirely from chocolate. French chocolate designer Eric Lamy designed it to go under the hammer at the auction of "chocolate sculptures."
The sculptures’ collection also features other chocolate treats such as a giant pyramid of 90 eclairs and a couple of rabbits. The money raised from the auction is to go to a children’s charity.
The participating chocolatiers and organisers are all volunteers. Some spent days to create the chocolate sculptures. Whatever the time spent, the chefs hope to raise the most money possible.
Fabien Rouillard, a pastry chef said, "I mean, to think about it, it took around a day to create it and to make sure what we were going to do. And after that, it took about ten hours to complete it, with my chefs. "
The auctioneer meanwhile is confident about the auction. He thinks the giant Obelix could go for thousands of euros.
Fabien Mirabeau, auctioneer, said, "An auctioneer doesn’t have a Crystal ball and since this auction sale is for charity, there is something appealing about that. It's linked to sick children, so we can expect to reach several thousand euros if the public is ready to respond to expectations."
For those who miss the auction, it will still be possible to get a lot of the chocolates, as the chocolatiers will redo them in smaller more manageable sizes for Easter.