JWU pastry chefs, students star in TLC reality show

On Aug. 16, TLC aired "Extreme Food Sculptors," a program on food sculpting that included the unveiling of an 18-foot-high sculpture made completely out of bread by baking and pastry faculty and students at Johnson & Wales University (JWU)--Providence.

Last February, a television crew from Stone & Co. Entertainment came to campus to film chef Ciril Hitz, department chair of the International Baking & Pastry Institute at the JWU College of Culinary Arts and his team as they constructed the 700-pound abstract sculpture. It was made up of 1,000 separate components that were each glazed, painted, baked and sculpted before the finished sculpture was assembled with the help of a forklift.

Chef Mitch Stamm (center, left), chef Ciril Hitz (center, right) and the JWU team assemble the epic bread sculpture while TV crews look on

In addition to Chef Hitz and his team, the Aug. 16 episode of "Extreme Food Sculptors" followed two other food artists--an executive pastry chef in Arizona and a master fruit and vegetable carver in Mississippi. Visit www.tlc.discovery.com for the upcoming TV schedule.