Lankan chef creates intricate works of art with golden spread in UK

Best fine detail chef in world is jobless:

One of the world's fanciest chefs Vipula Athukorale born in Sri Lanka has designed a Rolls-Royce car, a scene from Pinocchio and detail from the Pied Piper story.

Athukorale, 46, picked two gold medals and a silver at the international Salon Culinaire Awards in London last week.

The level of detail in his work is so fine that he cannot even breathe on the butter before cutting figures.

They might look like they're about to melt, but Athukorale said the secret was using the right type of golden spread. He opts for pastry margarine, rather than butter, which tends to melt as much higher temperatures.

The judges were amazed by the level of detail and Athukorale's patience.

"The sculptures take a very long time,' said the father of one from Leicester.

"The Rolls-Royce took nearly 90 hours, but the inside and the underside are all detailed.

"If you breathe, it moves your hand," he said. "You can't do that. So I lean in, take a deep breath, hold it, do what I need to do and then lean back and breathe out."

Athukorale also has to break regularly from his work and wash his hands in ice cold water.

"Otherwise, if my fingers are too hot, it's not good for the sculpture," he said.

Once finished, the sculptures can stand on display for years. "I did a Viking ship when I was in Bahrain, and that is still on display in the hotel lobby. It has been there for years.

"They don't melt. I do the sculptures in pastry margarine, not butter. It's a bit harder. You need to keep them covered sometimes, to protect them from dust, but they are OK."

Athukorale has worked in top-class hotels in Greece, Iraq, Cyprus, Bahrain and England. "When I was small, I was very good at drawing. Then someone gave me some clay and I started sculpting," he said.

"I started doing polystyrene sculptures - that's my favourite - and then moved on to butter and food."

He was made redundant late last year.

Today, he finds himself in the curious position of being one of the best fine detail chefs in the world - but with no job.

"I am beginning to think that what I do is no longer needed," Athukorale said.

"Good hotels always used to have a kitchen artist. Now, they don't. I feel like all the things I can do, all the things I feel so proud of, they don't matter any more. It is very sad, but I want to work." Daily Mail