Edible Histories Weca spent £12k on chocs project
LOCAL authority bosses spent £12,500 creating a series of edible sculptures - including a three-stone chocolate gorilla, the Post can reveal.
The Edible Histories project, funded by West of England Combined Authority, (Weca) took place as part of last year’s Bristol 650 celebrations and also marked the 150th anniversary of the chocolate Easter Egg.
It involved artist Luke Jerram creating replicas of items important to the city’s history. Using around 16-stone of Fairtrade chocolate, the massive sculptures included the last iconic Concorde jet to fly from Aerospace Bristol, a ship’s wheel from M-Shed, Alfred the Gorilla from the Bristol Zoo Project, Victorian medical bottles from Tyntesfield (National Trust) and the largest chocolate button in history from Glenside Hospital Museum.
A Weca spokesman said the money was from its cultural budget. They added: “The funding was to be paid in three invoices over the duration of the project, two invoices have been received to date with one pending; invoices have been paid based on successful delivery and meeting project outputs. The project was delivered by award-winning artist Luke Jerram.
“Five objects that told the story of the West of England were selected from local venues, then created in fairly traded chocolate by Zara’s Chocolates – wrapped in gold foil and displayed with the original pieces across the region for visitors to view and explore the region’s cultural heritage.
“This culminated in the event in St
George’s Hall where the chocolate was broken up and distributed to food banks.”
The event also raised £500 for the Trussell Trust in Bristol.
Speaking last year, West of England Metro Mayor Dan Norris said: “Edible Histories for me is all about celebrating what makes this city, and our West of England region, so special.
“Whether it’s our awesome aviation achievements, told through Chocolate Concorde, or how we’ve always led on that conversation about how best to look after the animals in our care, told through Chocolate Alfred the Gorilla, there’s plenty to shout about.
“This has been a brilliant project celebrating the inspiring stories, and culture, that defines this extraordinary city - told through everyone’s favourite sweet treat.”