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Say the word chocolate and images of raspberry truffles, cherry cordials, chocolate mousse creams, black forest bonbons, and chocolate walnut fudge pop into mind.
But there's a new chocolate vision reigning supreme these days. It's Lenny, the world's only life-size chocolate moose, who resides at Len Libby Handmade Candies in Scarborough, Maine.
Lenny's a newcomer to town. After a month of work creating this chocolate spectacle, he was unveiled July 1. Lenny is no ordinary moose. He's made of a superior quality of milk chocolate and is rock solid. Since he tips the scales at about 1,700 pounds, we're talking about a $17,000 moose.
Lenny stands knee deep in his own private pond complete with lily pads. He's right at home in his chocolate natural habitat. With an artistic mural of a woodsy Maine setting as a backdrop, Lenny is master of this chocolate kingdom.
Lenny was the brainchild of Maureen Hemond, co-owner with husband, Fern, of Len Libby. She says, "I kept thinking of the term chocolate moose. Chocolate because that's my business and moose because it represents where I live, Maine."
Zdeno Mayercak, a sculptor from the Maine College of Art, was responsible for bringing the concept of Lenny to life. He is accustomed to sculpting clay, pasta, and wood.
"I had too much respect for chocolate in the beginning," Mr. Mayercak quipped. But he began to think of it as just another material.
"To make a moose life-size is very challenging," he noted.
The chocolate moose began as a metal-framed armature, since its dimensions ruled out the use of a mold. Chocolate blocks weighing about 10 pounds each were put on the frame.
"It was almost as though they were sewing a hem," Mrs. Hemond recalled. The jagged wire was worked into the chocolate to give it a finished look. Melted chocolate was used as the mortar to hold the blocks together, and more chocolate was molded inside of the frame. There is nothing hollow about Lenny, the Chocolate Moose.
Lenny was sculpted with tools ordinarily used on wood and clay --hammers, chisel, hatchet. Mr. Hemond, the chocolatier, tempered the chocolate to develop the shiny coat of the moose, and instructed Mr. Mayercak and his assistants on its application.
So, does Lenny have any worries?
Well, his life expectancy is about five years, as long as the temperature stays steady at 68 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature reaches 75 and stays there for a sustained time, Lenny is going to drip. Mrs. Hemond observed with a smile, "We don't want a moose meltdown."
What does Mrs. Hemond think of Lenny? "He's majestic, authentic, one-of-a-kind. There's no mistaking what you're looking at. I wanted to create outdoors indoors." She also says, "It's a fun, fun thing. There's so many troubles in today's world," and a whimsical thing like a chocolate moose helps lift people's spirits.
"Everyone is so excited. The kids are awestruck. This is far better than I anticipated."
If you go: Len Libby Handmade Candies, 419 U.S. Route 1, Scarborough, Maine 04074. Telephone: (207) 883-4897. The shop is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays in the summer.
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