Over 8 Tons Of Food Art With The World's Largest Chocolate Pyramid

Ancient Mayans worshipped cacao trees and believed cacao beans to be food of the gods. To honor the historic role of the Mayans in the world of gourmet chocolate, a California chocolatier has sculpted the world's largest chocolate structure.

The chocolate creation is an exact replica of the Ancient Mayan Temple of Kukulkan at Chichén Itzá in Mexico. The gigantic chocolate sculpture weighs a total of 18, 239 pounds (8,273 kg), breaking the Guiness World Record of 7,500 pounds.

This austounding chocolate pyramid was crafted by a team led by Francois Mellet, pastry chef at Qzina Specialty Foods in Irving, California. Francois and his team spent 400 hours designing and building the structure to conmemorate the company's 30th anniversary. The chocolate masterpiece will be on display at the Qzina Insitute of Chocolate & Pastry from the 4th of June until the 21st of Decemeber 2012 (which marks the date when the Mayan calendar ends). Since the world is rumored to end on that day, Qzina plans to destroy the sculpture in honor of the Apocalyptic prophecies.

Just in case the world really does end in 2012, here's a foodie survivor kit complete with chocolate.