Success sweet for Chef Alain Roby of Geneva with third Guinness record

When the measuring was done Saturday night, Geneva’s own celebrity chef Alain Roby, owner of the All Chocolate Kitchen, became the first pastry chef to claim a third Guinness World Record.

Hundreds gathered along the courthouse lawn in Geneva to observe the creation of the world’s longest candy cane, which came in at 51 feet, easily beating the old record of 40 feet. Mayor Kevin Burns, in his familiar role as master of ceremonies, said a video of the event will be used by Guinness for formal verification.

The crowd erupted in cheers shortly after 7 p.m., when Roby called out the final length of the colorful, curving candy cane. Earlier in the evening, he decorated it with spun-sugar ribbons he created on the spot.

Burns, who introduced Roby’s wife, Esther, and their sons, Jonathan and Adrian, thanked the Roby family for choosing to undertake the event in Geneva, where it provided a dramatic finale to the town’s two-day Christmas Walk festival.

Upon completion, Chef Roby took a hammer to the cane, breaking it into small pieces, so that everyone could take a piece home. His other two Guinness World Records are for the World’s Tallest Cooked Sugar Building and World’s Tallest Chocolate Sculpture.

The candy cane took shape just down the street from the Roby family's dessert cafe and gelateria at 33 S. Third St. (www.allchocolatekitchen.com).

Roby is the author of the cookbook “Alain Roby’s American Classics: Casual and Elegant Desserts,” an editor’s top 10 pick by The Food Channel.