Reddit Is Obsessed With Amaury Guichon's Chocolate Sleigh
It continues to look a lot like Christmas, as chefs work holiday themes into their social media feeds. Few have nailed it as well as Amaury Guichon, the pastry chef who judged the recent Netflix series School of Chocolate. Redditors saw as much yesterday as a video of Guichon's chocolate reindeer and sleigh creation appeared on the Oddly Satisfying subreddit.
In the video, we see Guichon carve away strips of chocolate that he then molds, smooths, and carves into an edible holiday work of art.
"The seat in the sleigh is absolutely genius. Wow," one wrote, obviously impressed by the cleverness involved in blowing up a balloon, coiling it, and covering it with chocolate to give the impression of a soft cushion. Of course, Guichon pops the balloon once the mold is done.
The artistry was so impressive that one person said, "Dude I'd feel guilty eating this."
Some commenters were more fixated on the appearance of the "deer." "Not a reindeer. Actually looks like an Indian chital," one noted. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, a chital is a spotted deer native to the Indian subcontinent.
"What kinda spotted fawn is gonna be sporting a straight 8 rack?" another asked.
It took Amaury Guichon five days to make the chocolate reindeer and sleigh
Guichon also shared the video on Instagram, stating that it took him five days to construct the 5-foot-long, 65- pound chocolate sculpture. Apparently Instagram users are less discerning when it comes to deer, as they opted to simply gush over the masterful manipulation of chocolate.
"I love working with chocolate because it is such a unique material," Amaury Guichon told Inside (via YouTube). "You can mold it, you can sculpt it like clay ... it's almost sensual."
This hands-on approach has always appealed to Guichon. In an interview with Butterkicap, he recalls how at the age of 10 he wanted to make bread. Then he took a cooking class. "That was the turning point when I discovered how much I love working with my hands and the excitement over creating something," he said. Ultimately, he chose to become a chocolatier instead of a pastry chef as it spoke to the artistic side of him. "You have to make sure the sculptures look elegant and [can] hold the weight," he said of working with chocolate.
Even though some think his reindeer design leaves something to be desired, the elegance of his work remains undeniable.