Jen Lindsey-Clark, Chocolatician
Willy Wonka is a fictional character appearing in British author Roald Dahl’s 1964 children’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and, its 1972 sequel Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator.Wonka is the eccentric founder and proprietor of the Wonka Chocolate Factory.
The story was originally inspired by Roald Dahl’s experience of chocolate companies during his schooldays at Repton School in Derbyshire, specially the recipe wars between Cadbury and Rowntree’s, the top two chocolate and confectionery brands of UK. Famous for its Kit-Kat chocolates, Rowntree’s in 1988 was acquired by Nestle when it was the fourth-largest confectionery manufacturer in the world.
The book was first made into a feature film as a musical, titled Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory in 1971. The second adaptation film, titled Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, was released in 2005 to positive reviews and massive box office returns.
Wonka is a 2023 musical fantasy film directed by Paul King, who co-wrote the screenplay with Simon Farnaby based on a story by King. It tells the origin story of Willy Wonka, a character in the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, featuring his early days as a chocolatier. The film stars Timothée Chalamet as the title character,
A life-size figure of Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka was created by, Chocolatician. It took more than five weeks to craft the sculpture, which stands at 6ft 2in tall and was made entirely from 100kg of Belgian chocolate. The figure was unveiled in Trafalgar Square ahead of the release of Wonka, which opened in cinemas on Friday.
When I am not working on big sculptures, I organise chocolate workshops for adults and children. I introduce people to the magic of chocolate, how they can use chocolate for art, where the beans come from, sustainability, and a host of other things. I tell children about Roald Dahl’s Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. Chocolatician also organises chocolate workshops and children’s chocolate parties at our beautiful Sompting Farm Estate.
Becoming a chocolatier
I was drawn to chocolate like most children are. I come from an artistic family with generations of British sculptors. I loved cooking and enjoyed making things that people enjoyed.
I went to catering college and I trained as a pastry chef in a hotel. I trained with amazing chefs and chocolate artists who showed me really how magical chocolate can be if you understand it and can manipulate it how you want. Thus, I went to chocolate school. I was a pastry chef in an amazing vegetarian place called Terre à Terre, where I worked on pastry without eggs and gelatin.
I started out as a luxury cake maker and decorator.
I worked with Plunge Creations, doing interesting chocolate architecture for the props company. My pastry work, my chocolate artistry, and Plunge with their mold-making, designing, and rig design came together to set me on the path to becoming a chocolate artist.
Chocolatician was launched in 2015 with a life sized chocolate Benedict Cumberbatch figure, the big push that brought me and my team into the limelight after this iconic chocolate man brought much attention and adoration from fans around the world.
These fans were delighted to receive the news that a miniature version (The Cumberbunny) with ears and a tail would be available to purchase for Easter 2016. Sending Chocolatician into viral heights on social media the Queen was next for the chocolate treatment and a pure chocolate bust of Her Majesty wearing an edible crown and jewellery was created to celebrate her 90th Birthday.
The challenges of becoming a chocolate professional
The early years came with many challenges. Manipulating chocolate, handling the temperature changes, it can all be very frustrating. Then there was the challenge of making a name for myself. The Pandemic was another challenge.
The creations
An enormous chocolate Thomas the Tank engine was 2017’s Easter gift from Chocolatician to the Uk, an amazing pre-runner and theme setter for the Godiva Chocolate train inspired by the film ‘Murder on the Orient Express’, displayed at the film’s world premier at the Royal Albert Hall on 2nd November at the top of the red carpet. I am very proud of the train we worked on together for Murder on the Orient Express. It was a long project, two months in the making, chiseling away at the chocolate thinking of how to make small parts like the horn or the whistles. The Train was then on show for two months at the magnificent St Pancras Station until it set off on the Queen Mary II for a Christmas cruise to New York City and back!
Over the years, we have created Willy Wonka Chocolate Statue , Chocolate King Charles Bust, Cumberbunny, The Chocobatch and a 10ft long chocolate orient express, and many other edible showstoppers like the Chocolate Queen at 90 and the Chocolate Mermaid.
One of my great projects was the life-sized bust of Britain’s King Charles 111 23 kilograms unveiled by confectionery brand Celebrations to mark the coronation. With my team of sculptors and chocolatiers, we took 130 hours across four weeks to make the model. The ornamental shoulder pieces decorating the King’s uniform were modelled from individual Twix, Milky Way, Galaxy and Bounty chocolates, with the King’s collar made from Maltesers Teasers. One of each of the Celebrations chocolates, including Snickers, was used to create the medals on his chest. 17 litres (3.7 gallons) of melted chocolate was used to make the profile like what will be seen on stamps, coins and notes.
The project marked the eventful day of the crowning of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla. A PR magazine featured it on the cover as one of the great promotional projects.
Trends
Sugar-free chocolates and plant-based chocolates are the new trends to track for chocolatiers. I make vegan milk chocolate with chickpea that is liked by conscious consumers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jen Lindsey-Clark is a Brighton-based chocolate sculptor. Her Chocolatician brand is known for unusual chocolate designs and sculptures.
