Oregon chef wins two awards at international ice competition

(APRIL 29, 2022) Chris Foltz is a chef. He teaches at the Oregon Coast Culinary Institute in Coos Bay. But he is also a sculptor -- of ice. In fact, he and his three teammates won first place in the World Ice Art Championships in Alaska this year.

The contest is the largest of its kind. More than 100 sculptors from 30 countries participate every year.

There are different categories. Foltz's team participated in the multi-block category. They get nine blocks of ice. Each block is 6 feet by 4 feet by 3 feet. It weighs more than 7 tons. They have 132 hours to create a sculpture using hand tools or even power tools like chainsaws.

Foltz won another award in a category for two people. He worked with a student. They won third place.

Foltz likes to teach his students about ice carving because he thinks it's a useful advantage for their culinary careers.

Foltz's team includes Steve Brice, Steve Dean, and David Smith.