PARKROYAL Darling Harbour has invited students from Le Cordon Bleu, the world's largest hospitality education institution, to give free rein to their creative urge, with a unique opportunity to craft Christmas themed chocolate showpieces for a festive hotel lobby display.

In a little over a hundred years, Le Cordon Bleu has evolved from a humble Parisian cooking school to a renowned international network of culinary and hospitality institutes. It first established its Australia presence in 1992, instructing aspiring Australian cooks and chefs in the finer points of classic French cuisine and modern international culinary techniques.

As part of Le Cordon Bleu Sydney's highly popular Advanced Diploma of Hospitality Management (Patisserie) program, students are required to undertake a number of real life patisserie-making challenges. PARKROYAL Darling Harbour's partnership with the Institute provides the perfect opportunity to do this, with the project enabling students to further refine their skills in a manner that truly celebrates the festival season.

On 18 November, Le Cordon Bleu students constructed a series of spectacular gravity defying Christmas creation made with over 150kg of Callebaut chocolate, as part of a project which saw them exercise a range of different skills encompassing everything from concept development through to managing the logistical challenges of working with a large quantity of perishable ingredients. The impressive seven-metre display took 600 hours to build involving 4 chef lecturers and 12 students.

”We are so excited to partner with Le Cordon Bleu on a project which really encourages students to stretch their wings. PARKROYAL Darling Harbour has welcomed a number of Le Cordon Bleu graduates over the years, and we share the Institute's passion for encouraging culinary excellence. We are thrilled that we have been able to provide a platform for fostering future talent, and are in awe of the result,” said Jeroen Meijer, PARKROYAL Darling Harbour's Hotel Manager.

John McFadden, executive chef of PARKROYAL Darling Harbour added “I care deeply about the future of our industry and nurturing new generation of chefs. I have been involved with the school for over a decade. For the past seven and half years, I have acted as a student assessor - donating my time to offer professional knowledge and provide valuable feedback to students. This project means a lot to me personally and I am honoured to work with Le Cordon Bleu and PARKROYAL Darling Harbour to bring it to life.”

The exclusive 150kg Christmas chocolate showpiece will be on display at PARKROYAL Darling Harbour in the lead up to Christmas, and is guaranteed to delight guests and visitors of every age.