speaking of yum...
DISCOVER A FOUNTAIN OF YOUTHFUL DELIGHTS
WITH A CHOCOLATE CASCADE AT BELLAGIO
Jean-Philippe Pâtisserie introduces a first-of-its-kind free-standing fountain of melted chocolate
LAS
VEGAS – From far down Bellagio’s promenade in the luxurious new Spa
Tower, a mesmerizing figure entices curious guests with visual splendor
and aromatic wafts: jutting out into the main corridor like the prow of
a ship is a glass-enclosed, floor-to-ceiling chocolate fountain
emerging from Jean-Philippe Pâtisserie. Displaying a spectacular series
of melted chocolate cascades, this first-of-its-kind spectacle is the
tallest chocolate fountain in the world.
Designed by
award-winning Executive Pastry Chef Jean-Philippe Maury and Norwood and
Antonia Oliver Design Associates, Inc., the fountain took a year and a
half in planning and design. The result is a genius work of kinetic
sculpture and a daring feat of engineering. Standing 27-feet tall, the
masterpiece circulates nearly two tons of melted dark, milk and white
chocolate at a rate of 120 quarts per minute.
“I’ve been
creating sculptures out of chocolate for years, but exploring the
particular properties of melted chocolate has been fascinating,” said
Executive Pastry Chef Jean-Philippe Maury. “Each of the three types of
chocolate behave very differently, and we had to be aware of this in
the design. It’s been a wonderful challenge!”
The visual impact
of the fountain is as compelling as its chocolate is appetizing: six
spouts in the ceiling initiate the lyrical descent of rich dark,
velvety milk and glistening white chocolate streams through a maze of
25 suspended glass vessels. Cast in ½-inch thick, rough-hewn aqua glass
and held in position by anchoring cables, each vessel was built to
precise size, shape and design by Montreal artist Michel Mailhot. Some
oblong, some rounded, each irregular, the vessels hover mobile-like to
capture and coax the paths of free-falling liquid chocolate.
Three
rivers of dark, two of milk and one of white twist and swirl from
vessel to vessel, flood across then spill down to the next carefully
positioned receptacle. The colored streams and vessels are staggered,
creating a mosaic effect in earthy shades of cocoa, gleaming viscous
surfaces and refracted light. Having finished their acrobatic tumble
down the tiers of this colossal chandelier, each rivulet funnels into
hidden melting tanks, recollects and begins the journey once more.
Surrounding
all this glory is a protective, multi-faceted cloak of 300-pound glass
panels that rise in a funnel shape as the fountain expands toward the
ceiling.
“We’ve made glass a central design component of both
the fountain and the Pâtisserie,” said Designer Norwood Oliver. “Glass
maximizes the visibility of chocolate’s color and the multiple cascades
as they flow from vessel to vessel. Glass also was an ideal medium to
take the fountain’s physical presentation to another level -
sculpture.”
Built under Oliver and Chef Maury’s guidance by
Perfect Équipements of Montreal, the fountain’s power plant is an
elaborate system of pipes, pumps and valves located beneath the floor
of the Pâtisserie. There, three tanks of chocolate – dark, milk and
white – melts to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Six pumps join forces to
transport the molten delight to the top of the fountain through
two-inch diameter, stainless-steel pipes hidden within the walls of the
shop. Surrounding each pipe is an additional three-inch pipe through
which flows hot oil to keep the chocolate thinned as it journeys up the
wall to make its entrance. More than 500 feet of these double pipes
circulate chocolate 24 hours a day. From the tank room below to the
pipes above, the fountain’s full height is 27-feet, yet only 14-feet is
visible within the shop.
“The scope of this team’s vision and
their expertise are nothing short of genius,” said Randy Morton, vice
president of hotel operations at Bellagio. “Jean-Philippe Pâtisserie
will become a sightseeing destination in itself and is a stellar
addition to Bellagio’s collection of elegant amenities. This
one-of-a-kind fountain, Chef Maury’s exquisite confections and the
refined elegance of the décor and packaging all combine to make an
experience our guests will never forget.”
the world's TALLEST chocolate fountain!!!!!
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.
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