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A 'cheese wedding cake' expert is hoping to smash the world record for the largest cheese sculpture with her half-ton cheddar crown.Cordon Bleu trained chef Tanys Pullin, 46, spent 90 hours crafting it out of a 1,322lb block of Farmhouse Cheddar. She carved the sculpture in the shape of a crown to mark the anniversary of the Queen's Coronation on June 2.
After completing it yesterday Tanys said she was nervous but thrilled after completing the large-scale carving.
'I'm elated but it was very daunting,' she said. 'Can you imagine being given a massive round cheese and told you have to go into a fridge on one of the hottest days of the year to carve it?
'I was given a 600kg block of cheese. I spent about eight days carving the crown and did 12-hour sessions which did get a bit chilly in the fridge. 'Now it weighs just below 500kg which blows the current record out of the sky.'
To achieve the Guinness World Record the crown sculpture needed to weigh in excess of 290 kg (101lbs). Tanys's effort is just awaiting the validation from Guinness adjudicators.
Rules state that the sculpture must be made from a single piece of cheese and is not allowed to be supported by an internal structure.
Though she regularly makes wedding cakes out of cheese Tanys, from Wells, Somerset had never tried her hand at cheese sculpting on this scale before.
'My job is to make things out of cheese, but I don't normally sculpt them,' said Tanys.
'I'm a genuine cheesaholic.
'I live, breath and work with cheese most of the time. It's a great medium to work with.
'It's looking fab and I'm delighted. I hope other people will enjoy it too.'
The self-proclaimed Nigella Lawson of the cheese world began her career as a chef in London before owning her own cheese company in Dorset.
'I was trained in London at the Cordon Bleu school,' said Tanys. 'I then worked for several years for the Leadenhall Wine Company running their restaurant and now I have my own cheese company in Dorset.
'I am the cheese wedding cake goddess. I'm like the Nigella Lawson of the cheese world.'
Kevin Beer, who acted as a cheese consultant for the attempt, said he knows how unpredictable cheese can be.
He said: 'Working with a natural material such as cheddar presents a whole host of obstacles.
'If you leave it to its own devices in a normal environment it will develop a mould. To prevent this, Tanys will need to keep the sculpture at a low and constant temperature.
'She will also need to spray it constantly with olive oil and wrap it up at the end of each session in damp cheese cloth to keep it moist and prevent cracking.'
The sculpture will be unveiled on the June 2 at this year's Royal Bath and West Show.
'I am the cheese wedding cake goddess. I'm like the Nigella Lawson of the cheese world.'
Kevin Beer, who acted as a cheese consultant for the attempt, said he knows how unpredictable cheese can be.
He said: 'Working with a natural material such as cheddar presents a whole host of obstacles.
'If you leave it to its own devices in a normal environment it will develop a mould. To prevent this, Tanys will need to keep the sculpture at a low and constant temperature.
'She will also need to spray it constantly with olive oil and wrap it up at the end of each session in damp cheese cloth to keep it moist and prevent cracking.'
The sculpture will be unveiled on the June 2 at this year's Royal Bath and West Show.
