Amateur and professional chefs and chocolatiers create edible sculptures 

 

For the twentieth annual Chocolate Lovers Festival, the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies hosted the Chocolate Challenge.

The competition pitted amateur and professional chocolatiers against each other in a Food Network style competition.

All entries were required to be completely edible, made predominantly of chocolate and no larger than 2’x2’.

Awards were given for the best amateur and professional cake entries in both child and adult divisions, best in show for sculpture and artistic creations and an overall people’s choice award. Best judges entries received a blue ribbon and an award certificate.

Sandy Dornslife of CakeWalk won best professionally decorated cake for her pirate ship creation.

The Nutrition Kitchen, a space used by the nutrition studies program, was transformed from a working classroom-kitchen to an edible art gallery.

Chocolate creations ranging from sculptures to cupcakes were judged by both a panel of judges and the general public.

Judges included: Thomas Prohaska, Dean of the College of Health and Human Services and his wife Beth; Warren Brown of Cake Love and Love Café who has been featured on Food Network; Sabrina Campbell of Occasionally Cake; and Mayor of the City of Fairfax Scott Silverthorne.

For a $1 admission fee, guests could enter their name on raffles for prize baskets and goodies from local businesses and vote for their favorite piece.

Donations were also collected for Meals for Young Minds, a non-profit organization that supports students at local elementary schools who do not have access to food on the weekend.