Mumbai chocolatier makes 75kg chocolate Ganesha idol for Pune

Sankesh Bangera, a Mumbai-based pastry chef and chocolatier, made a four-foot Ganesha idol weighing 75kg entirely from chocolate, without moulds or non-edible internal supports.

The sculpture took more than 36 hours across three days. Bangera said the design had to account for gravity and weight distribution at every stage, particularly around the arms, crown and ornaments. Each component needed time to stabilise before he added the next.

Bangera said temperature was another constraint: the chocolate had to remain firm enough to carry the idol’s weight while allowing detailed work on the face, trunk, jewellery, drapery and Mushak.

The idol was worshipped at an outlet in Pune before its planned immersion in milk on the fifth day of the festival, Friday, September 18. The milk was to be served to visitors as chocolate milkshake prasadam.