By Dave Goosselink
Dunedinites are paying tribute to some of the country's top sporting heroes this week as part of the 12th annual Chocolate Carnival.
With the London Olympics just around the corner, past Kiwi medal winners have been immortalised in chocolate.
Double gold-medallist Danyon Loader returned home to Dunedin to check out his likeness in chocolate.
“I wondered what photo it was going to be, or how they were going to do it,” says Loader. “But I do remember that photo.”
Atlanta '96 was when Loader savoured the sweet taste of success, claiming two golds in the pool.
His portrait is one of 31 created by British chocolate artist Prudence Staite.
She has spent the last fortnight recreating some of the country's most iconic sporting images, using 150kg of chocolate.
“I've captured everything from 1912 up until 2008,” says Ms Staite. “So it's like an edible New Zealand history of the Olympics.”
Her portraits are a mix of loose chocolate mosaics and melted chocolate paintings, each one taking hours to complete.
“I'm totally obsessed with it. It's a great material to work with. I can do anything really.”
And Loader reckons it is okay for athletes to enjoy a bit of chocolate.
“With the miles that they do, especially the swimmers and the runners, you know chocolate is a good fuel source as well,” says Loader.
The hall of fame is one of more than 50 activities happening around the city this week, where chocolate addicts are getting their own gold medal moment.
“It's awesome,” says carnival-goer Chantelle Watkins. “I never thought I could really get one for eating lots of chocolate.”
The average New Zealander munches through 4kg of chocolate a year. That's about double the amount in the chocolate artwork – a sweet treat for kids and adults alike.
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