Butter sculptor Vipula Athukorale has seen the top prizes slip through his fingers at the Culinary Olympics.
The talented chef, from Belgrave, Leicester, picked up two bronze medals at the event in Germany.
The father-of-one painstakingly handcrafted a a scene from fairytale Little Red Riding Hood and a 2ft-long Mercedes Benz, which featured a couple on their wedding day.
Vipula, 49, who has worked in hotels all over the world, said he was disappointed he did not get a top prize in his category.
"I've been doing this for 30 years and I really was hoping for a gold medal," said Vipula.
"I'm disappointed, but it really was an amazing event and the food I saw was amazing.
"Butter sculpting really is very difficult and takes a long time, and I'm really pleased with the sculptures I created for the competition."
Vipula made his sculptures at his home in Ellis Avenue from a type of margarine used for making puff pastry – he did not want to reveal the brand – before boxing them up and taking them on a 20-hour bus journey to the competition in Erfurt, Germany, which finished on Wednesday.
"You have to keep them out of the sun so they do not melt and you have to keep them covered up so they do not attract dust, but other than that, they are fine because pastry butter does not melt too easily," he said.
"I put in a lot of detail to the sculptures. I even carved the undercarriage of the Mercedes Benz. Getting the proportions correct was the hardest bit.
"I chose it because it was a German car, and I chose Little Red Riding Hood because everyone around the world knows the story.
" The little girl was the hardest bit to do because she was in a seated position, which was difficult to get right."
Vipula was part of a 22-strong culinary 'Team GB'. Other team members competed in a range of events, including buffet creation and the making of a three-course meal.
Vipula got two bronzes in the butter sculpting category – beaten to the top prizes by chefs who made a dancing couple and Greek gods.
However, Vipula, who is no stranger to competitive butter sculpting, does hold a top title, having won first prize at the Culinary World Cup, held in Luxembourg in 2010.
He has worked in top hotels all over the world, including Bahrain, Greece, Cyprus, England and Iraq and designed the food for Saddam Hussein's 50th birthday party in 1987.
Vipula said: "I hope to compete at the Culinary Olympics next time but it will not be for another four years so I am worried I am getting too old."
