Bite-Sized Design: a NGV Melbourne Design Week Chocolate Exhibition Exploring Architecture, Scale and Form
19 May – 20 June 2026
A unique exhibition bringing together architects, artists, and designers to explore scale, form, and spatial thinking in edible size. Exhibition Bite-sized Design is grown out of ten years of food and art designs by Melbourne/Hong Kong–based multidisciplinary artist and chocolatier Ryan L Foote.
From 2016 to 2026, Foote has designed over 100 chocolate forms. Foote is known for large-scale, multi-sensory installations that fuse spatial design, gastronomy, and performance. In 2018, he founded R L Foote Design Studio in Melbourne, focusing on ceramics, followed by Chocolates by Ryan L Foote in Hong Kong.
At the heart of the exhibition are over 200 chocolate designs from Foote and submissions from designers around the world, who are invited to reinterpreting their creative practice and material thinking at a bitesize scale, with forms inspired by architectural landmarks and cultural symbols.
Opening : 19 May 2026, 5:00pm – 8:00pm, taste selected chocolates from Chocolates by Ryan L Foote, including Australian and Hong Kong flavor collections and sculptural chocolate bars.
The exhibition runs 19 May – 20 June 2026 with free admission, which coincides with the ceramic factory tour during NGV Design Week Program.
About the Chocolates By Ryan L Foote
Founded in 2018 by designer and artist Ryan L Foote, Chocolates By Ryan L Foote is based in Hong Kong has some of the most sculptural chocolates available. Fusing state-of-the-art 3D printing technologies, with age-old chocolatier techniques to create forms that are miniature pieces of edible art… Foote creates flavours that pay tribute to his two homes Melbourne and Hong Kong and take inspiration from Australian native flora and traditional Cantonese desserts.
Australian Collection
Inspired by Australian native botanicals and Australia's vibrant gastronomic scene, in this collection you will find a mix of digitally generated chocolate forms each with its own unique sculptural shape. Flavours include white chocolate & wattleseed, quandong & finger lime cream, cinnamon myrtle, honey & macadamia nut…
Available in 4 & 9 piece boxes.
Smoky eucalyptus, mint & dark chocolate
Cool notes of eucalyptus & mint lightly smoked in a rich smooth dark chocolate ganache. Inspired by Australian bushfires and the lush growth after.
Quandong & finger lime cream
Fragrant pieces of quandong, a native desert peach, are paired with zesty & refreshing finger lime in a perfectly balanced sweet-and-sour creamy
Spicy mountain pepperberry & dark chocolate
Rich and creamy dark chocolate is complemented by the peppery spiciness of this forest berry from Southern regions of Australia.
Davidson’s plum & rose jam
This tart-tasting native plum from the Northern parts of Australia is paired with the floral sweetness of rose jam in this two-layered filling.
Cinnamon myrtle, honey & macadamia nut
Warm and spicy cinnamon myrtle, honey and chunks of macadamia nut create a complex buttery ganache with an aromatic honey aftertaste.
Vegemite caramel
Housed in a thin chocolate shell, buttery salted caramel with a hint of Vegemite oozes out with each bite.
White chocolate & wattleseed
Warm roasted flavour of naturally nutty & coffee-like wattleseed is combined with white chocolate creating a smooth creamy ganache with wattleseed grinds.
Lemon myrtle caramel
Strong refreshing citrus flavour of lemon myrtle is infused into the smooth caramel filling - caramel with a zing!
Strawberry gum
The leaves of the strawberry gum found in New South Wales have a unique sweet berry flavour, which we have paired with a dark chocolate ganache.
Hong Kong Collection
Inspired by Hong Kong flavours from local classics to modern tastes, in this collection you will find a selection of digitally generated chocolate forms, each shape and flavour carefully selected to complement one another. Flavours feature Egg tart, Hong Kong milk tea and Five-year-aged mandarin rind just to name a few.
Available in 4 & 9 piece boxes.
Five-year-aged mandarin rind
Aged mandarin rind, a popular ingredient used in cooking and medicine, combined with bitter dark chocolate creating firm citrusy ganache filling with a zest.
Mango coconut cream
Tropical flavours of mango and creamy coconut create this wonderfully smooth ganache inspired by a classic Hong Kong dessert.
Hong Kong milk tea
Strong and velvety, milk tea served with a splash of evaporated milk, this traditional drink has been embraced by Hongkongers since the 1940s.
Hong Kong French toast with peanut butter
Deliciously sweet-savoury, buttery toast with peanut butter and condensed milk in the middle, you will find this popular snack in every cha chaan teng.
Coconut tart
Found in all local bakeries, this textural tart made of desiccated coconut and butter has a balanced sweet-and-salty flavour.
Black sesame & almond
Roasted nutty flavours of black sesame and slightly astringent almond complement one another perfectly in this half-and-half filling.
Caramel Char Siu
Char siu, popular savoury-sweet sauce used for seasoning of roast meats, using spices and flavourings like chilli, garlic, fennel, vinegar and sugar, combined with rich caramel filling for a special umami flavour.
Red bean & milk chocolate
One of the most popular dessert ingredient in Hong Kong, red bean has a subtle earthy flavour offset with its sweetness. Paired with a milk chocolate ganache with caramel notes.
Egg tart
This Hong Kong egg custard treat is based on both the British custard tart and the Portuguese Pastel De Nata and found in tea houses and bakeries around Hong Kong.
About Chocolates By Ryan L Foote
Ryan L Foote set out to re-imagine chocolates for today, creating chocolates that are both visually engaging and reflective of contemporary design. With unexpected flavours and innovative recipes, from traditional Asian flavours not normally found in chocolates to Australian native botanicals that you might never have tasted or even heard of.
Chocolates by Ryan L Foote based in Hong Kong and stocked in our Melbourne showroom creates some of the most luxurious and thought-provoking chocolates available. Fusing state-of-the-art 3D printing technologies, with age-old chocolatier techniques to create amazing fractal, geometric and organic sculptural forms that are miniature forms of edible art… almost too pretty to eat.
Foote creates flavours that pay tribute to his two homes Melbourne and Hong Kong and take inspiration from traditional Cantonese desserts and Australian native flora.
Along with several other collections like his Single Origin and Whiskey, Foote has set out to push the boundaries and create unique bits of edible art.
