Discover a Fountain of Youthful Delights With a Chocolate Cascade at Bellagio
28 Januar 2005 - 7:19PM
PR Newswire (US)
Discover a Fountain of Youthful Delights With a Chocolate Cascade
at Bellagio Jean-Philippe Patisserie Introduces a First-of-Its-Kind
Free-Standing Fountain of Melted Chocolate LAS VEGAS, Jan. 28
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- From far down Bellagio's promenade in the
luxurious new Spa Tower, a mesmerizing figure entices curious
guests with visual splendor and aromatic wafts: jutting out into
the main corridor like the prow of a ship is a glass-enclosed,
floor-to-ceiling chocolate fountain emerging from Jean-Philippe
Patisserie. Displaying a spectacular series of melted chocolate
cascades, this first-of-its-kind spectacle is the tallest chocolate
fountain in the world. Designed by award-winning Executive Pastry
Chef Jean-Philippe Maury and Norwood and Antonia Oliver Design
Associates, Inc., the fountain took a year and a half in planning
and design. The result is a genius work of kinetic sculpture and a
daring feat of engineering. Standing 27-feet tall, the masterpiece
circulates more than 2,100 pounds of melted dark, milk and white
chocolate at a rate of 120 quarts per minute. "I've been creating
sculptures out of chocolate for years, but exploring the particular
properties of melted chocolate has been fascinating," said
Executive Pastry Chef Jean-Philippe Maury. "Each of the three types
of chocolate behave very differently, and we had to be aware of
this in the design. It's been a wonderful challenge!" The visual
impact of the fountain is as compelling as its chocolate is
appetizing: six spouts in the ceiling initiate the lyrical descent
of rich dark, velvety milk and glistening white chocolate streams
through a maze of 25 suspended glass vessels. Cast in 1/2-inch
thick, rough-hewn aqua glass and held in position by anchoring
cables, each vessel was built to precise size, shape and design by
Montreal artist Michel Mailhot. Some oblong, some rounded, each
irregular, the vessels hover mobile-like to capture and coax the
paths of free-falling liquid chocolate. Three rivers of dark, two
of milk and one of white twist and swirl from vessel to vessel,
flood across then spill down to the next carefully positioned
receptacle. The colored streams and vessels are staggered, creating
a mosaic effect in earthy shades of cocoa, gleaming viscous
surfaces and refracted light. Having finished their acrobatic
tumble down the tiers of this colossal chandelier, each rivulet
funnels into hidden melting tanks, recollects and begins the
journey once more. Surrounding all this glory is a protective,
multi-faceted cloak of 300-pound glass panels that rise in a funnel
shape as the fountain expands toward the ceiling. "We've made glass
a central design component of both the fountain and the
Patisserie," said Designer Norwood Oliver. "Glass maximizes the
visibility of chocolate's color and the multiple cascades as they
flow from vessel to vessel. Glass also was an ideal medium to take
the fountain's physical presentation to another level --
sculpture." Built under Oliver and Chef Maury's guidance by Perfect
Equipements of Montreal, the fountain's power plant is an elaborate
system of pipes, pumps and valves located beneath the floor of the
Patisserie. There, three tanks of chocolate -- dark, milk and white
-- melt all 2,100 pounds to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Six pumps join
forces to transport the molten delight to the top of the fountain
through two-inch diameter, stainless-steel pipes hidden within the
walls of the shop. Surrounding each pipe is an additional
three-inch pipe through which flows hot oil to keep the chocolate
thinned as it journeys up the wall to make its entrance. More than
500 feet of these double pipes circulate chocolate 24 hours a day.
From the tank room below to the pipes above, the fountain's full
height is 27-feet, yet only 14-feet is visible within the shop.
"The scope of this team's vision and their expertise are nothing
short of genius," said Randy Morton, vice president of hotel
operations at Bellagio. "Jean-Philippe Patisserie will become a
sightseeing destination in itself and is a stellar addition to
Bellagio's collection of elegant amenities. This one-of-a-kind
fountain, Chef Maury's exquisite confections and the refined
elegance of the decor and packaging all combine to make an
experience our guests will never forget." DATASOURCE: MGM MIRAGE
CONTACT: Stephanie Davis of MGM MIRAGE, +1-702-891-7517; or
Jennifer Baum of BULLFROG & BAUM, +1-212-255-6717, for MGM
MIRAGE
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