Cuenca Edible Art

UPDATE 1/8/2013  — At first Two Who Trek didn’t know what image was being created in the series of photographs below.  However, our travel agent pointed out today that the pictures were upside down!  The image being created is that of a chola cuencana, a local woman in the native dress.

Thanks, Maria, for the correction!  We’ve updated the story below.

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Tonight Two Who Trek joined the rest of the AHI travel group for a fine meal at Tiesto’s Restaurant, currently ranked #2 of 111 restaurants in Cuenca on TripAdvisor.com. After a fine Ecuadorian style meal, the restaurant served desserts on platters hand-painted (yes, painted) by Chef Juan Carlos himself.  OK, it’s not real paint he uses but food products — hence the name, edible art.

Because Two Who Trek are naturally curious, we did some investigative photojournalism to see how the plates were created.  Because the rest of the AHI group were also curious, we offered to share the photos via this blog.  So sit back, enjoy, and try not to drool.

Chef Juan Carlos, of Tiesto’s restaurant, hand painting a dessert treat.

Step 1 — Start with a blank plate.

Step 2 — the design outline is made with liquid chocolate.

Step 3 — The chef begins to paint the design using liquid caramel.

Step 4 — after painting the bottom, he begins work on the top of the design.

Step 5 — He applies the caramel in a lighter coat to create a light background design.

Step 6 — The chef uses a common paint brush to apply detail.

Step 7 — Chef Carlos then uses liquid chocolate in an applicator bottle to provide detail.

Step 8 — more detail being applied.

Step 9 — detail at the bottom (the feet) has been completed.

Step 10 — The chef now applies detail to the top of the plate.

Step 11- With the basic design completed, the chef now adds flowers and other details.

Step 12 — Again, liquid chocolate is used to fill in the flowers’ centers.

Step 13 — More details are added with the applicator.

Step 14 — Chef Juan Carlos holds up the finished product.

The final result is the image 0f a chola cuencana, a local woman in the native dress.   This image is definitely recognizable in the area and is a main figure in the community.

In other dessert news, here Chef Carlos creates another plate:

Here a different plate is being prepared. Liquid chocolate has been painted as a background.

This plate ended up on Two Who Trek’s table.  The final product looked like this:

That’s how the desserts are created at Tiesto’s.  The food was so great we ended up eating there twice in a week!

Front door and sign.