Another Guinness World Record has been broken! Qzina Specialty Foods, which is based in Irvine, California, celebrated its 30^th Anniversary by building the largest chocolate structure to date.

They created a replica of the ancient Mayan temple of Kukulkan (in Chichen Itza) that weighs 18,239 pounds.  That makes it 7,500 pounds heavier than the previous record set in 2010 in Italy.

Qzina officials announced that they chose a Mayan temple for this record breaking event because the Mayan culture played a major role in the origins of chocolate. The Mayans were the ones who first cultivated cacao trees for domestic use and uncovered the food potential of the cocoa beans.

The corporate pastry chef of Qzina, Francois Mellet, became the main architect of the sculpture and Stephane Treand, one of the best craftsmen in Europe, particularly France, helped by giving his artistic touch that added to the intricate aesthetic designs of the sculpture.

Mellet, along with his chosen team, dedicated more than 400 hours of construction for this magnificent and record breaking structure made solely from chocolate.

Richard Foley, the CEO and Founder of Qzina Specialty Foods, was very eager to say that "breaking a Guiness World Record for building an extremely large structure made up of chocolate is considered to be Qzina’s greatest achievement so far."

He went on to say, "Our team studied Mayan structures to a certain extent that is required to create an exact representation of the Kukulkan Temple located in the Chichen Itza in order to honor the original chocolatiers. It is very important for them to be included in this monumental event that is related to our 30^th anniversary celebration and the grand opening of our Qzina Institute of Chocolate and Pasty as well."

Built in accordance to the ancient temple's true dimensions, the solid chocolate pyramid is measured to be 6 feet tall and is 10 by 10 feet at the bottom. The sculpture’s base alone weighs more than 3,000 pounds.

The chocolate will be on display at the Qzina Institute of Chocolate and Pasty located in Irvine starting June 4 until December 21, 2012, the date that the Mayan calendar ends.

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Joanna Maligaya

Staff Writer/Content Developer at Chocolate University Online

Ever since she can remember, Joanna has always considered chocolate as the ultimate food for her soul. She believes in the saying, “9 out of 10 people love chocolate, and the 10th always lies.”

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