The designer steps up the experiential dining game with a play on shape, texture and taste with his unique pairing of chocolates and ceramics
On one breezy Saturday evening earlier this Spring, I walked into the lift of a commercial building in Ap Lei Chau on my way to a chocolate kitchen. I had been invited to learn how to make chocolates with Ryan L Foote, an artist and designer who works with both chocolate and ceramics, with studios in Hong Kong and Melbourne. 3D chocolates are his signature items, but that night he was teaching novices like me how to make simple chocolates filled with ganache.
The process starts by painting the inside of the chosen mould with cocoa butter mixed with food-safe colouring. It’s an open canvas, with the final design on display on the outer shell of the chocolate. Next comes the more intimidating part—filling the mould with the liquid chocolate coming out of a large machine that has been churning chocolate constantly for hours. This requires a steady hand, as you also have to scrape the top and sides of the mould clean before carefully placing it on the vibrating plaque, which will get rid of any air bubbles. The excess chocolate is then dumped back into the machine, so that only the outer layer that has adhered to the mould stays. Once the outer shell has hardened, we squeeze the ganache inside and wait until it has settled before sealing everything off with another layer of liquid chocolate.
See also: Casa Cacao's Jordi Roca And Damian Allsop On How To Unearth The Flavours Of Chocolate
While we waited for the chocolates to harden, we tested the CBD chocolates from his latest collaboration with CBD retailer Savan and drank port wine out of his Hong Kong neighbourhood ceramics collection. Foote had managed to encapsulate the essence of each neighbourhood in a cup. Pastel colours reminiscent of the Sheung Wan buildings, blue waves and green hills for Kennedy Town—and on top of that, the cup was oval shaped, offering the customer a new way of drinking.
That is Foote’s mission, to offer customers the ultimate dining experience through shape, texture and taste. His past work on set designs and events for fashion shows in Melbourne, London and Paris involved incorporating elements of sound and lighting to complete the elaborate installations he was creating. Once he started incorporating food and alcohol for food and wine festivals and pop-up bars, he made the final shift towards catering to the F&B industry. With many events where he curated everything from food concept to tablescaping to interior design under his belt, Foote has all the tools to create a true feast for the senses.
