In Geneva, Illinois, Chef Alain Roby is proving that not all art is meant for walls. Some is even meant to be eaten.
Home to a mix of Midwestern charm and Swedish heritage, Geneva is a quaint, quiet town, made all the more idyllic by the Fox River that cuts through its center. There, tucked among a string of small, independent shops, you'll find a pastry paradise owned by Paris-trained chef Alain Roby, who has managed to fill plenty of larger-than-life ideas within the walls of All Chocolate Kitchen.
Breaking the mold about what a pastry chef should do with chocolate, Roby takes his sweets to new heights—quite literally. Roby holds three Guinness World Records for the World’s Largest Chocolate Building (20 feet, 8 inches); World's Tallest Cooked Sugar Building (12 feet, 10 inches); and World's Longest Candy Cane (a whopping 51 feet, made with 900 pounds of sugar).
But beyond setting world records, Roby brings international acclaim to Geneva thanks to his unique sculptures made from blown sugar. Combining the world of fine art and confections, Roby meticulously bends delicate sheets of warm sugar to create his edible art that could seem at home at any museum.
Roby made a name for himself in the pastry world—and earned more than 20 prestigious culinary awards—during a decades-long career, with stints in Chicago and across the globe. But it's Geneva that gets to savor his sweet creations these days. Whenever you're there, make sure to stop into All Chocolate Kitchen to let your eyes—and your sweet tooth—marvel at Chef Roby’s work that's truly Illinois Made.
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