Clyde Zammit and Sotiris Charalambous, pastry chefs at SussexFood, caterers for the University of Sussex, competed in the International Salon Culinaire contest as part of Hotelympia, the UK’s largest exhibition for the hospitality industry.
Zammit’s and Charalambous’s sugary creation, which was up against entries by 30 other teams from around the world, won a bronze medal in the Sugarcraft Showpiece category.
Their entry was a visually stunning homage to Japan, inspired by the juxtaposition between nature and culture.
The sculpture comprised a one-metre-long samurai sword, made entirely from sugar pastillage, being held by a pair of chocolate hands, giving root to a decorative bonsai tree.
Every element was life-size, and involved a high level of detail.
It was on display to about 8,000 chefs from around the world who attended the event in London.
The former ITS student was delighted with the result and is now aiming for gold at the next edition in two years’ time.