Chocolate factories were once fragrant masters of their delicious domains but many have fallen victim to high costs, cocoa shortages and changing market tastes.

Hershey, Pennsylvania, is known as “The Sweetest Place on Earth” though residents can’t be blamed for feeling a bit bitter: the historic Hershey Chocolate Factory closed in 2010 after operating for 105 years. Much of the former factory on East Chocolate Avenue was demolished over the past two years though Hershey is legally bound to preserve the iconic twin smokestacks and “cocoa bushes” regardless of future developments.

Home Sweet Home

In 2009 photographer Sebastian Liste embarked upon Urban Quilombo, a photo-documentary odyssey that opened a window into the lives of dozens of families who occupied Galpao da Araujo Barreto, an abandoned chocolate factory in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. Creating a community to shield themselves from the violent crime surrounding them, residents of the old chocolate factory managed to scratch out an existence suffused by sorrow shot through with flashes of joy.

In March of 2011, Brazilian government authorities evicted the families from the factory as part of their effort to “cleanse” cities scheduled to host events of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The families who formerly occupied the abandoned chocolate factory were resettled in a new neighborhood, “Jardim das Margaridas”, where Liste continue to document their lives.

Bristol Brush-Off

Elizabeth Shaw has really let herself go. The Elizabeth Shaw chocolate factory in Bristol, UK, opened in 1881 and closed in late 2006 ostensibly due to its machinery needing a massive updating the company simply could not afford. It would seem the entire complex – both manufacturing and administrative – was abandoned with very little salvaging of anything valuable. Kudos to urban explorer Nero21 for risking life and limb to snap a few photos of the factory interior, where trays of moldy chocolate fill the stagnant air with a pungent aroma of sadness and decay.

Cadburied

This former Cadbury chocolate factory in Adelaide, Australia seems to have been abandoned for quite some time. How can you tell? Well, signage faded by the fierce and unrelenting Outback sun offers one clue while the stowed 1959 Ford delivery (or “despatch”) wagon parked inside offers another. Full props to Weekend Notes for the evocative images above.

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Meltdown 10 Semi Sweet Abandoned Chocolate Factories

On the hunt for Red October? Then get your taste buds to Moscow and the iconic red brick Red October Chocolate Factory, where top quality confectionery packaged in jewel-like wrappers have been giving Russians sugar rushes for nearly 150 years.

The East Is… Brown?

(image via: Strelka Institute)

Russia’s iconic Red October chocolate factory has been a fixture of downtown Moscow for generations. Surviving – even thriving – through war, revolution and heavy-handed Soviet city planning, the factory’s red brick walls and steaming chimneys span the century between old Czarist Russia and the new, post-communist Russian Federation.

(images via: PagetBaker and Wien International)

As mighty oaks grow from tiny acorns, today’s Red October (in Russian, “Krasny Oktyabr”) chocolate factory started small. It all began back in 1851 when German immigrant Teodore Ferdinand von Einem (above, lower right) arrived in Moscow. After opening a small confectionery shop in Moscow’s Teatralnaya Square and noting his products met with Muscovites’ approval, von Einem partnered with fellow German Julius Heuss who suggested a production facility on the Sofiyskaya Embankment of the Moscow River.

(images via: Master Margarita and Wien International)

The earliest record of the enterprise was recorded in the Factories and Plants of the Russian Empire directory as: “Einem. Partnership of steam factory for chocolate and tea cookies. Year of foundation is 1867.” Time passed and von Einem sold his interest in the enterprise to Heuss, but the latter continued to employ the founder’s ideas, methods and name.

(image via: Strelka Institute)

By 1913 the factory was providing chocolates and sweets to the Czar and his family. Zeppelins crisscrossed the sky over Moscow, advertising the company’s products. The factory on the banks of the Moscow River gradually expanded to include a worker’s hostel while additional buildings connected by covered walkways sprung up to cover much of the 15-acre site. Things were rolling along… what could go wrong?

In Soviet Russia, Chocolate Bar YOU!

(images via: Tom Stellmach and Russia IC)

World War I, the Russian Revolution and the execution of your most notable customer (and his family), that’s what could go wrong. In 1918 the company was seized by the government of the shiny new Soviet Union and renamed “State Confectionery Factory Number One, previously Einem.” Thinking the name was overly bland and cumbersome, the title was further changed to “Red October” in 1922.

(image via: Bearsac)

The Soviet government may have been doctrinaire but they weren’t dummies: funding was provided to import new machinery was from Europe and the product range was expanded to include brand names that are still produced today, such as Southern Nights and Stumbling Bear. By the 1930s, the Red October chocolate factory was producing top quality, exquisitely packaged sweets and candy at the rate of 60,000 tons annually.

(images via: Chocolatewrappers.info and ninaKay)

World War II (the “Great Patriotic War”) saw the factory switch over to mass-produced military rations, including high-caffeine “Kola” chocolate made expressly for air force pilots and submarine crews. The factory was awarded the honorary Challenge Banner seven times by the State Defense Committee.

Cold War, Hot Chocolate

(images via: World Architecture News, Tom Stellmach and Artinfo)

With the war over and reconstruction a priority, the Red October chocolate factory got right back to doing what it was famous for: making world-famous candy and chocolate and by doing so, showing the world that life in Soviet Russia wasn’t all gloom and doom. A generation of Muscovites retain fond memories of warm, sweet-scented breezes wafting from the factory’s many ventilation pipes.

(images via: Radio Free Europe and Proxypro)

As time went by, government-funded investment in training, testing and technology saw the factory become a proving ground where the latest innovations in confectionery were perfected. Integrated mechanized production lines for hard-boiled sweets and toffee were set up, allowing the Red October brand to expand its considerable footprint on sweet-tooth’s palates.

(images via: The Independent UK and Mikhail Tsypkin)

A series of large-scale modifications to the Red October chocolate factory’s main production complex conducted in the mid-1960s saw additional floors being added to the larger buildings. These additions resulted in the factory complex’s current, layer-cake-like appearance.

Yeah Baby!!

(images via: CreativeRoots)

The year 1966 is a momentous one in the long history of the Red October chocolate factory, as it was the year in which the face of the company made it’s – her, actually – first appearance. “Alenka” (or “Alyonka”, Russian for “Helen”) is a little girl who wears a multicolored kerchief around her ahead and an innocent look on her face.

(images via: PopSop and Moscow Russia Insider’s Guide)

Though her origin isn’t completely clear, most versions state that Alenka was modeled on the young daughter of an artist working in the company’s advertising division. There was even a court case in the year 2000 in which a woman named Yelena Gerinas sued the Red October chocolate factory, claiming that she was the model for Alenka and had never been compensated for the use of her likeness. Regardless, the image of Alenka today symbolizes both excellent chocolate and, for many Russians, a time when their country was one of the world’s great superpowers.

(images via: Passport Moscow)

Besides the original milk chocolate bar, the image of Alenka has appeared on a vast variety of Red October chocolates, candies and confections ranging in size from bite-size truffles to massive, jumbo chocolate bars popular in Europe.

(image via: Alyonka Mail Art Project)

Artist and media mover & shaker Ivan Zemtsov set out to celebrate Alenka’s 40thh birthday by setting up the Alyonka Mail Art Project, in which participants would compose original artwork featuring Alenka’s iconic visage. The first “Alyonka” show was presented to public in Yoshkar-Ola Museum of Fine Arts in October 2006. Some of the works are shown above.

(images via: The Faster Times, Maxim Zhukov and Regia Richest)

When the Red October chocolate factory ceased operations at its central Moscow location in 2007, several proposals were put forth with the intention of converting the main buildings into high-priced apartments and lofts. The 2008-09 world financial crisis put the kibosh on those plans, perhaps thankfully, and the premises now houses a museum celebrating Red October’s wealth of history as well as hosting art shows and media events.

(image via: National Geographic)

As for the Red October chocolate factory, it’s moved to a spanking new 48,000 square meter (516,685 sq ft) facility in Moscow’s hinterlands. The new factory maintains the company’s long and lustrous reputation by manufacturing 30 different types of chocolate and confectionery while employing 19,000 workers… and undoubtedly perfuming the suburban air for a whole new generation of Russians to appreciate.

As the fear of the obesity epidemic rises, food is seen more an more as simply something one has to cut back on. Lunch is no longer a joyful time to cherish, but a disappointing time spent in front of a microwave. Not everyone has succumbed to this despair, however, and a lot of people are compensating for smaller, healthier, portions, with beautiful aesthetics. Here are 10 beautiful and mystifying artworks made out of cuisine:

(Images via modes4u, lostateminor, neatorama, twolia)

Bento boxes are single portion takeouts and home prepared meals that are extremely popular in Japanese culture. Some people take it very seriously, and love to turn an otherwise mundane preparation into an applause worthy artistic expression. One can only imagine how difficult it would be to start chowing down if your microwave meal was being oohed and aaahed as much as one of these preparations would be.

(Images via neatorama, slashfood, wonderhowto, cadbury)

Chocolate portraits are an increasingly popular artistic expression. The concentration here is on appearance, not taste, so they may not taste as great as you’d think, but they certainly are eye-catching. Chocolate has the advantage of coming in a variety of colors and hues, and being both malleable and hard enough to maintain its form. Through sculpture and careful pouring and manipulation, chocolate artists can create incredibly realistic depictions.

(Images via pixdaus, jorymon)

Nothing spices up a pot luck like strategically arraying your food into a classic painting or character portrait. Such simple and intriguing displays are a bit inspiring. How much harder would it be to add a few distinctive features to your otherwise mundane dish? You may not want to tackle the Mona Lisa the next time you set out cheese and crackers, but a nice smiley face never hurts.

(Images via obesityhelp, popfi, funnypictures, guardian)

Some believe that higher powers work in mysterious ways… whether these are examples of this, or just fortuitous coincidence, is hard to say. Regardless of the source of these inspirational portraits, nobody can deny they’re intriguing. The phenomenon of seeing Jesus’ face in random food products (like the cheeto, naan, potato chip, and fish stick pictured above), isn’t constrained to the food itself:

(Images via bitchspot, popfi)

Household items can showcase unearthly portraits as easily as a potato chip. Whether you find excitement over these occurrences ridiculous or spiritual, they’re definitely interesting.

(Images via guardian, amandamorrow, popularasians, chilloutpoint)

Sushi is delicious, and no one will argue that the taste of a good sushi roll can be affected by the artistry of its creation, and its appearance on the plate. There are some who take this to an extreme. A portrait of President Obama and the face of a friendly panda may have been the inspiration for a sushi vinyl toy that does not look happy to be on the plate.

(Images via foundshit, geekologie, break4fun, insomniadiaries)

Meat is something a lot of people like to eat, and it’s also something a lot of people don’t like to think about. Whether you’re a meat lover or not, the above sculpted artworks are a bit nauseating, and very unique. After taking a look at this assemblage of strange sculptures, it will be hard to see a muscle car the same way again.

(Images via panric, pxleyes, saufnase)

For artists with a photographic and technological bent, food is more enjoyable to manipulate with photoshop. Mixing and matching different objects in entertaining and shocking ways is a great way to catch someone’s attention and show off your skills with photo manipulation.

(Images via rockstartemplate, humor-articles, unstructured musings, weirdspy)

Artists choose a variety of strange materials, and food is no exception. Some artists love taking the everyday and turning them into something more powerful. A good photo changes an otherwise temporary piece of art into something that can brighten up someone’s day for as long as the internet is around.

(Images via philagrafika, hackedgadgets, blisstree)

Toast is the foundation for any good breakfast, in television commercials, and in the average home. One might say toast is both the most common and most boring part of breakfast, but new technology aims to change that. Possibly inspired by the faces of Jesus that kept appearing on slices of bread, some engineers put together a toast printer that can imprint any image you’d like onto a piece of white or wheat. Some versions work like a real printer with the bread as paper, while others use an external tool to burn the decorations. However it’s done, it sure seems like a lot of fun!

As humans, food is any substance we consume for nutrition or even pleasure. It’s diversified across cultures through varying methods of cooking, preparation, and ingredients. But what if food was used as a medium for art? Here are 32 incredible examples of creative food design, food sculpture, and edible art.

Make Me a Sandwich.

(images via textually, Kitsa Sakurako, popluxe, like cool)

Bread has been consumed with other foods since Neolithic times, and the sandwich has evolved dramatically throughout different regions of the world. Starting at the top left is a sandwich in the shape of Wall-E, from the popular Disney Pixar movie of the same name. Remember the Rubix cube? This sandwich is constructed into the form of the famous puzzle with toast, ham, cheese, and salami cubes. Below that, little cell phone and Vespa sandwiches; not sure how well they function really, but I’d be happy to have yours. A little girl crafted the large sandwich in the middle to be a Witch, which is clever, but I’m seeing Chewbacca. Sandwiches with an attitude are all the rage, seen on the right mid and bottom, created with just a simple variation in how they’re cut! On the bottom left, this little mouse was created simply with parsley, a hot dog and edamame.

Edible Sculpture

(images via Jim Victor, Americade)

Heading farther away from the usual edible fare, we find some pretty amazing food sculptures. Up in the top left is a cheddar cheese likeness of two little boys with a cow, and to the right is a recreation, in butter, of the children’s rhyme “Hey Diddle Diddle”; they’re both very large in person. In the middle is a butter sculpture of a farm scene featured at a county fair. The three sculptures at the bottom are carved from watermelons, and are more popular in China than carving pumpkins! There are many in the collection, but depicted here are Van Gough, The Discobolus of Myron and a Sumo Wrestler.

Bento, desu!

(images via Kitsa Sakurako, slashfood, photoschizo)

Remember those brown paper-bag lunches your mom used to send to school with you? Well, Bento is Japan’s answer to that. A single-portion home-packed meal, Bento often consists of rice, fish, or meat, a side, and can be decorated in some pretty creative ways. The beautiful Bento at top left is actually made with red bell pepper and mashed potatoes mixed with food dye, creating a dreamy, oil-painted look. The kitten Bento is just too cute to leave out, it was created simply with rice and seaweed accents. Finding Nemo comes to mind when viewing the middle Bento box, created with the traditional ingredients of rice and seaweed, as well as the non- with Fruity Pebbles for the gravel. Looking at the ladybug, one would have to look twice to see that it’s really a halved tomato with cheese, on a bed of greens. The Eiffel Tower Bento is lovely, formed with sliced cheese, food dye on the rice, grape nuts for the gravel and vegetables for the bushes. Could you bring yourself to eat these?

Yes We Can

(images via The Epoch Times, mrstu, Canstruction)

At first glance these don’t look like food, but upon closer inspection you’ll see that these sculptures are made of canned food! With the creative eye of teams of architects, engineers and students, the structures take 8-12 weeks and thousands of cans to craft. Canstruction is actually a contest in which teams build these exceptional sculptures entirely out of canned food. At the close of the contest and exhibitions, all of the cans used are donated to local food banks, and are further distributed to shelters, pantries, soup kitchens, day care centers, and the elderly. This has been going on for years, and in sifting through the gallery, the Grand Piano, light bulb, Etch-A-Sketch, Orca Whale and Crayon Box evoled as my favorites. The face is reminiscent of a Pinhead Toy, and the effect is unforgettable. An original food art concept with a great cause!

Chocolat

(images via Food is Art)

Here we see that chocolate comes not only in dark, milk and white, but paintings, furniture and shoes as well! To celebrate the re-release of Smarties chocolate candies in the UK, they created an amazing gallery of Smarties art. Top left is a Warhol reproduction of Marilyn Monroe, while at bottom we have an exquisite rendition of Seurat’s “Bathers”. Marilyn Monroe seems to be a common theme; she’s painted in a chocolate portrait at mid right as well. Food artist Prudence Emma Staite created all of these masterpieces, including the life-sized shoes at top right. She even takes custom orders on her website, and can recreate any style of shoe. I wouldn’t recommend sporting them though. The piece de resistance would have to be the room of chocolate furniture. Staite also takes orders for these complete chocolate rooms, inspired by the children’s take of Hansel and Gretel, and they can feed over 500 people. How about that for form meeting function?

Mmmmmmeme

(images via kickintheheadcomic)

So apparently food comes Internet-Meme style now. These tasty treats recreate the famous Awesome Smiley, and are made of rice, egg, seaweed, cheese and ham. My favorite food art by far is cooked up through the creative minds at PES. The video below is a fascinating stop motion short entitled “Game Over” (mimicking arcade games like Pac Man and Frogger) and making very good use of food like pizza, muffins, pretzels, and eggs.

Food satisfies the body and soul, it’s one of the few common threads among all the world’s cultures. As you can see from the many inventive displays here though, it seems that some of us never really learn to stop playing with our food.