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Over 4,500 hours and 7,275 pounds of chocolate have gone
into creating the
creche. | |
Christmas has never tasted this good. Thirty-two pastry chefs in the
southern Italian city of Naples unveiled on Saturday what they say is the
biggest ever nativity scene
made entirely of chocolate.
Over 4,500 hours and 7,275 pounds of chocolate have gone into creating
the creche which is 19 feet, 8 inches wide, 9 feet, 10 inches high and --
to the delight of chocoholics -- totally edible.
"For us, this is an unrepeatable event, something which we will never
be able to do again," pastry chef Antonio Castaldo told reporters ahead of
the unveiling as he put the last touches on the golden locks of a white chocolate baby
Jesus.
The Neapolitan team, working through the night in a spartan garage, not only included
the area's finest pastry chefs but expert carpenters, sculptors and
painters pooling their skills to produce this ode to the cocoa bean.
More than 100 figures of shepherds, animals and townspeople decorate
the elaborate scene of hills and caves and Mediterranean-style houses. The
angelic-looking Madonna alone took two weeks to make.
Every year, the narrow cobbled street of San Gregorio Armeno in the
heart of Naples comes alive as artisans
peddle their often witty, hand-crafted nativity scenes.
This year's personalities include Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, the
two Italian women taken hostage in Iraq last September and then released.
In the past, Osama Bin Laden, and President Bush have featured alongside
Jesus and Mary.
But without a doubt, the chocolate creche has stolen the limelight this Christmas.
Lucky for the crowds that hungrily descended on the scene Saturday, its
creators said they are considering donating the nativity scene to the city
so that people can taste a piece of chocolate history in true Christmas
spirit.
(Agencies) |
圣誕節(jié)的味道從來(lái)沒(méi)這么棒過(guò)。上周六（12月4日），意大利南部城市那不勒斯的32位糕點(diǎn)師首次展示了他們用巧克力搭建而成的“耶穌誕生實(shí)景”，據(jù)他們說(shuō)，這是有史以來(lái)最大的再現(xiàn)耶穌誕生場(chǎng)景的巧克力。
糕點(diǎn)師們花費(fèi)了4500多個(gè)小時(shí)，共消耗7275磅巧克力才制成這座巧克力馬廄。馬廄寬19英尺8英寸，高9英尺10英寸。最讓巧克力愛(ài)好者高興的是，它全部可以食用。
“對(duì)我們來(lái)說(shuō)，這是一件絕無(wú)僅有的盛事，我們以后再也無(wú)法這樣做了。”糕點(diǎn)師安東尼奧·卡斯塔爾多在巧克力馬廄揭幕前對(duì)記者說(shuō)，當(dāng)時(shí)他正在為圣嬰耶穌的金色卷發(fā)做最后的潤(rùn)色，這位小耶穌是用白巧克力制作的。
那不勒斯的糕點(diǎn)師們?cè)谝粋�(gè)條件簡(jiǎn)陋的車庫(kù)里通宵達(dá)旦地工作，他們中不僅有當(dāng)?shù)刈詈玫母恻c(diǎn)師，還有木匠、雕刻家和畫家等專業(yè)人士，他們各顯所能，協(xié)力合作，用可可豆創(chuàng)造了這部頌詩(shī)。
在這塊巧克力上，不僅有100多個(gè)人物形象，其中包括牧羊人、動(dòng)物和市民，還有山巒、洞穴、地中海風(fēng)格的房屋等美麗風(fēng)光，人物和風(fēng)景相映成趣。單單是有著天使容顏的圣母瑪利亞就花了兩周時(shí)間才完成。
每年（的這個(gè)時(shí)候），那不勒斯市中心的這條名叫圣格雷戈里奧·阿爾梅諾的鵝卵石窄街都會(huì)充滿生機(jī)。巧手匠們沿街叫賣手工制作的新穎有趣的耶穌誕生實(shí)景。
今年的“主要人物”有西莫納·帕里和西莫納·托雷塔。去年9月，這兩位意大利婦女在伊拉克被劫為人質(zhì)，隨后被釋放。往年，烏薩馬·本·拉登和美國(guó)總統(tǒng)布什的雕像總會(huì)出現(xiàn)在耶穌和瑪麗身邊。
這座巧克力馬廄無(wú)疑在這個(gè)圣誕節(jié)出盡了風(fēng)頭。
星期六那天趕到現(xiàn)場(chǎng)的人群是幸運(yùn)的，這塊巧克力的創(chuàng)造者們說(shuō)，他們正在考慮將它捐給這座城市，這樣人們就可以品嘗一塊記載著歷史的巧克力，這體現(xiàn)了真正的圣誕精神。
（中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站譯） |
Updated: 2004-12-07 09:59