You may find it strange to learn that the modern tradition of ice sculpture originally began when chefs were asked to create lavish centrepieces for banqueting tables. Thus, many ice sculptors begin their careers as chefs and allow their creative culinary handiwork to evolve into elaborate carvings. Duncan Hamilton did the same and now the team pride themselves on being able to turn their talents to any desired carving with any desired medium – assuming that it’s viable.
The subject of this week’s blog is popular 70s material butter, or more specifically, industrial margarine which is surprisingly good for sculpting purposes when heated. Unfortunately real butter is far too soft to properly hold a shape, but a decent sized blob of oil based marge is akin to working with clay.
In order to celebrate Kuwaiti national day, the Hamiltons fashioned three camels from armatures made out of chicken wire and newspaper smothered in said margarine. They were then used as the focal point at a function in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. If you would like to find out more about using other sculpture materials please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
This week the team have also been busy creating a winter wonderland in Wimbledon for an opulent 50th birthday party, while Relais and Chateau Hotels have been enjoying the experience of seeing their logo appear in ice. You can find more photos on our Facebook page here.