MaltaMedia.com

Being from a small island has never prevented the Maltese from thinking big and this is what exactly happened today in Brussels when a Maltese chef, using Belgian chocolate, set the world’s record for the longest structure made in chocolate.

Within the framework of the Belgian Chocolate Week, Chef and ITS lecturer Andrew Farrugia displayed his latest work of art- a chocolate train. On Monday, this sculpture was recorded by the Guiness World Records as holding the record for being the longest chocolate structure in the world, measuring 34.5meters in length.

The chocolate train was the highlight of the Belgian Chocolate Week, so much so that the Minister of Tourism for the Brussels region used this event to officially open the week’s activities, which attracted press from all over the world.

Mr Farrugia worked closely with Malta’s Ambassador in Belgium, HE Vanessa Frazier to secure sponsors for the event and for the logistics of his participation in this festival.

The train was manufactured in Malta using 1,285 kg of chocolate donated by Belgian chocolate manufacturer Belcolage. The train was transported overland the Brussels by Mr Kevin Attard and flights to and accommodation in Brussels for Mr Farrugia and his team were offered by Airmalta and Radisson Blu Royal. MTA also co-sponsored the event and used it as an occasion to promote Malta as a tourist destination.

Mr Farrugia also created a grand piano out of chocolate for which Roland, the renowned piano manufacturer donated an electric keyboard. During the inauguration of the event, which was held in the South Terminal of the Midi train station in Brussels, the life-size chocolate piano used by two painists to perform classical and jazz pieces.