Vipula Athukorale, a Leicester chef and food sculptor has won an international gold medal for his moving First World War study of life and death on the western front. He won his second gold with his creation called 'I miss you dad' at the Culinary World Cup in a butter sculpture class.
The sculpture that is made out of 24 kgs pastry margarine, took three weeks to craft.
Mr Athukorale, who was representing Britain in Luxembourg last week, was one of 14 competitors out of more than 800 from around the world to be awarded the gold standard in his class.
Speaking to a local newspaper, Vipula said: “It took me three weeks to create. I wanted to choose a relevant theme to mark the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the World War I.
“It is also a tribute to my father Henry who is a retired Lt General in the Sri Lankan army who was a cadet at Sandhurst in the 1950s.
He further added, “I was worried because I wondered if the Germans would not agree with the subject. But I needn’t have worried.
“The characters show pain, compassion, frustration and anger.”
Speaking about his success, he told Leicester Mercury: “I am so pleased to win a gold medal for the British team. I also want to thank my boss at the Indigo restaurant Jagdish Ghelani for sponsoring and supporting me. It would not have been possible for me to compete if it had not been for the support of the restaurant.”
Vipula hopes that the people of Leicester will be able to view his current gold medal winning entry. When he returned from the competition it went on display at Belgrave Hall and Gardens, in Loughborough Road, Leicester.
Shyamal Brahmbhatt, who is a co-owner of the Indigo restaurant, reportedly said: “When you see the outstanding skills that he possesses, it is no surprise that we wanted to support him.
“I don’t want to sound cocky, but we are not surprised that he won another gold.
“He is so single minded and dedicated to whatever he does.”
Vipula will be competing for more gold in the Culinary Olympics to be held in Erfurt in Germany in 2016.
