Willy Wonka: What's it like being a chocolate sculptor?

The life-sized chocolate sculpture of Willy Wonka took five weeks to make

Willy Wonka is a famous character known for bringing children's wildest chocolate fantasies to life, and one sculptor from West Sussex has also made epic chocolate creations their career.

Jen Lindsey-Clark, who describes herself as a "magician with chocolate", has made a life-sized version of Willy Wonka to celebrate the release of the new film in which Timothée Chalamet takes on the iconic lead role.

Jen has made lots of incredible chocolate sculptures - from trains and mermaids, to actor Benedict Cumberbatch, King Charles III to celebration his coronation and even Queen Elizabeth II's corgis!

Newsround spoke to Jen to find out more about life as a chocolate sculptor...

How was the chocolate Willy Wonka made?

Jen working on the chocolate sculpture of Willy Wonka

For her latest chocolate masterpiece, Jen worked with a team of sculptors to recreate actor Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka.

The painstaking process, which involves a lot of science, took five weeks and around 100kg of chocolate!

"We first made the head from clay and then we cast it in chocolate," Jen explained to Newsround.

"We then sculpted the full body from another type of clay which was chocolate clay."

The chocolate was moulded onto a steel frame to help give it structure. It was then a repeated process of carving and adding more chocolate, until the team got their desired outcome.

Then they could have some fun adding on the decorations and different textures.

Timothée Chalamat plays a young Willy Wonka in the new film

"It took 200 plus hours and involved quite a few sleepless nights - I was even having Wonka inspired dreams!" Jen said.

Transporting the final Willy Wonka sculpture, which was unveiled in Trafalgar Square ahead of the release of the film, took a lot of work... and a careful driver!

The chocolate structure is very heavy, so it had to be wheeled into a box while lying down and tucked in before it was moved about very carefully.

"This was the first solid chocolate figure we did, so it was the most difficult," Jen said.

"It was really heavy and we didn't quite know how it was going to work and how it was going to move."

The cold weather also proved to be a bit of a challenge and Jen was unsure how the sculpture would cope with the chilly conditions.

"We lost a finger and a whole hand on one journey," she said. "But the joys of chocolate is that you can melt down and stick it back on."

Jen's top tips for working with chocolate

Be sure to get an adult to help you when melting chocolate

If you want to have a go at making your own chocolate creations, here are Jen's top tips:

1. You can use any chocolate from your local sweet shop or supermarket - try Fairtrade chocolate as this means the workers and farmers who help produce the chocolate receive a fair wage for their work.

2. To create something with chocolate, you'll need to melt it first. Be sure to ask an adult for help and it's best to melt it in a microwave. Put the chocolate in for 30 second bursts and give it a stir each time you take it out. When the melted chocolate only has a few lumps, you can keep stirring until these go away and you'll be left with smooth chocolate.

3. The chocolate should come out shiny and smooth. You can test this by sticking the end of a teaspoon in the melted chocolate and if it sets within three to five minutes at room temperature, you've successfully achieved the tempering process at home.

4. Once you've got your melted chocolate, there are lots of things you can do with it. You can pour some on greaseproof paper (which prevents it sticking), add on some sprinkles, dried fruit or nuts and put a lolly stick in the middle to make your own chocolate lollies.

5. You can also fill an ice try with chocolate, stick in a lolly stick and let these set at room temperature to make your very own hot chocolate cubes. Once solid, these can be added to some hot milk to make a delicious drink and you can also add in marshmallows, whipped cream, or any other toppings of your choice.

6. There are lots of other things you can make including chocolate truffles, coins and you can also buy moulds which you can use to make things like chocolate figures.

7. When working with chocolate, don't put it in the fridge, but be sure to keep it at room temperature.

8. Don't worry if you make a mistake - treat it like clay, all you need to do is reheat and start again.