ART FOR EATING

Throughout the world masterpieces are created from clay, iron, plasticine, wax, paper and fabric. Works of art are on display in the Round Room of the Museum Centre made from a somewhat different material. The "Nikolya Chocolate Museum" exhibition organised by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is original because  the viewer is offered works by the chocolatier Nikolay Popov executed in the sweetest, most desirable and tempting material in the world, namely chocolate. Chocolate is made from cocoa beans, i.e. the seeds of the cocoa trees which grow in tropical forests.

"We have travelled around many countries and more than 40 cities with our exhibition, but our arrival in Baku appears to be something special. Firstly, our exhibition has opened in the run-up to the European Games in Baku and will be open until 28 June. Secondly, master classes will be held within the framework of the exhibition and all those who wish will be able to try and master this sweet, in the direct sense of the word, form of creativity. Many people may be just as fascinated by it as I was once when I read that chocolate could be used as a material for creating sweet artistic sculptures," Nikolay Popov said in a conversation with Regionplus.

A supplier of Nobel prize-winners

The chocolate mass is prepared from a mixture of icing sugar, grated cocoa and cocoa butter with the addition of tasty, aromatic ingredients. The mixture is mixed yet again with cocoa butter, chilled to 30-31 degrees centigrade, after which it becomes workable as a material for creating sweet and tasty works of art.

The creation of chocolate museums throughout the world is a popular and beautiful phenomenon. The museums in Bruges and St. Petersburg are regarded as the most attractive and original in the level of the plastic works on display. A museum of chocolate is also attractive in that, besides the exhibits that it is customary to admire from a distance, you can enjoy chocolate tasting as well.

The residents of such cities as Barcelona, Bruges, Cologne, Cadbury World, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Simferopol, Kiev, Trostianets, Brest and Riga are quite rightly proud of their chocolate museums as original and very pleasant phenomena. What is more, chocolate is not only a delicacy, but is an extremely nutritious food. It is beneficial to the heart, improves the mood and helps to stave off pangs of hunger. Chocoholics live longer, regular chocolate consumption adding a year to their lives. You think better after several pieces of chocolate. A cup of hot chocolate helps to soothe a sore throat and alleviate a cough. Incidentally, in countries where they eat a lot of chocolate, they have more Nobel prize-winners!

Tasty sights

There are 250 items of high-quality chocolate on display at the exhibition of chocolatier Nikolay Popov which he has brought from Belarus. There are marzipan and chocolate sculptures here, pictures framed in chocolate baguettes, miniatures and compositions weighing 700 kg. Visitors to the exhibition can learn about the history of chocolate.

Chocolate is a highly beneficial and pleasant material in which to embody artistic fantasies. The author of the exposition created a large number of the works he brought specially for the exhibition in Baku. They are dedicated to Azerbaijan and Baku. These are "Chocolate Picture" depicting our country's flag, "The Maiden Tower" weighing more than 70 kg, chocolate buildings of Government House, the Museum Centre, the National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet and a chocolate barbecue.

Among the exhibits there are marzipan fruits and flowers, "Venetian Masks", "In the World of Animals", "The Golden Crown", "Faberge Eggs", "A Grand Piano", "A Carriage", "Breakfast in the Village", "Ladies Accessories", "Salt Fish" and others. Nikolay Popov dedicated the biggest chocolate picture weighing more than 200 kg to the First European Games in Baku.

The pride of Belarus

Nikolay Popov's chocolate museum is an unusual exhibition of simple, aromatic statues of animals, everyday objects, women's wardrobes and so forth. It is a place where, irrespective of your age, you can experience masses of positive emotions, contemplating the author's works and inhaling the aroma of the chocolate exhibits. It is a place where you can enjoy the spectacle of genuine art, obtain useful, exhaustive information on chocolate and on the art of creating works in chocolate and gain the practical skills to create such beauty with your own hands as well.

The Nikolya Chocolate Museum is an object of special pride, not only to the author himself, who experiences the joy of creation, but to the whole of Belarus. The chocolatier came to Baku on a mission of friendship and cultural integration, as well as with the desire to introduce people to the skill of making chocolate creations, to teach them how to do it and share with them the secrets of his skills, encouraging in them a love for chocolate creations too. He is not only glad to have contact with the residents of Baku, but will also give master classes in his favourite, aromatic, tasty and in all senses sweet and very attractive art, the art of the master chocolatier, the art of sculpturing masterpieces from chocolate which gladden the heart and the eye. Not to mention stimulating a passion for chocolate in very, very many people…