So,
you’ve been in Brussels a few years now, and you’ve become a bit of a
chocolate snob. You turn your nose up at anything so plebeian as Cote
d’Or, Galler and Guylian (they’re sold in supermarkets,
for God’s sake!). You wouldn’t be seen dead in Godiva or Leonidas,
which have worldwide franchises. Ugh, how common. You’ve tried
everything Corné Port-Royal and Neuhaus have to offer. You know your
praline from your truffle, your ganache from your gianduja. You’re even
getting a bit tired of Marcolini, although you have a cupboard full of their bags. You
can walk through the Sablons or the Galerie de la Reine without breaking
your stride. The drugs don’t quite work any more, although you’ve made
a cushion cover out of all the ribbons.
Chocolatiers
are constantly striving for something new. Lately there has been a
fashion for announcing the country of origin of the cocoa beans, which
has resulted in some labelling that would not go amiss in an Amsterdam
coffee shop. Tanzanian black, Nicaraguan red and Ghanaian gold are not
for smoking. New exotic flavourings, using spices and things you
wouldn’t normally associate with chocolate such as flowers, have been
appearing on the shelves. Dolfin is a range of organic chocolate bars
sold in Carrefour flavoured with oddities such as lavender
or violet.
I've
sampled and sampled and sampled Belgian chocolates, but found something
was missing. I couldn’t put my finger on the missing ingredient. It
was only when I tasted one of Café-Tasse’s weird 2010 range (cracked
pepper, chilli, etc.) that I realized what it was. It was SALT, a vital ingredient in British chocolate, which I think enhances the flavour. Try Café Tasse’s chocolate flavoured with fleur de sel or anything with salty caramel in it to see what I mean. Then again, I was brought up on Milk Tray.
The Belgian chocolate industry models itself on the Paris fashion world, with 'seasons' and 'collections'. The three high points of the year are Valentine's Day, Easter and Christmas, but they also bring out spring and autumn collections with appropriately themed packaging. The chocolate shop windows are an attraction all on their own, and the Galerie de la Reine is dreamlike in winter with the chocolate shops lit up and adorned with expensive Christmas decorations.
The winter season starts with Chocolate Week in November. In 2012 a
34-metre long chocolate train was unveiled at the Gare du Midi, made by a
Malteser! GEDDIT? Valletta pastry chef Andrew Ferrugia’s 34-metre
chocolate sculpture made a valiant attempt to get into the Guinness Book
of Records with the biggest chocolate structure ever made. Meanwhile,
French artisan chocolatier Patrick Roger recreated the African
jungle in his window - in chocolate.
Looking
for a new high in the chocolate world? The following artisan
chocolatiers are the last word in exclusive, Aunty Brenda is not likely
to stumble across any of these in the high street back home in Essex.
Brussels
Laurent Gerbaud Chocolatier Rue Ravenstein 2d
Frederic Blondeel Chocolatier, Quai aux Briques 24
Van Dender 416
chaussée de Louvain (Place Dailly) - multiple award winner for cakes
and chocolates, accredited to the Royal Court of Belgium. Chocolates good value and 10 minutes' walk from my house which puts them way near the top in my book.
Mary’s have
two posh shops in Brussels (including an outlet in Rob, one in La
Hulpe, three in Moscow, one in St Barth and one in Cape Town) and your
Aunty Brenda will be sharing her guilty pleasure with the Queen Mother of
Belgium who gets her fix here.
Le St.-Aulaye, Rue
Jean Chapelié 4 London-trained award-winning Australian pastry chef
Ryan Stevenson is chocolate supremo at this high quality
bakery/patisserie/chocolaterie.
Manon 24 rue du Congrès
Zaabär Chaussée
de Charleroi 125 Their chocolate workshops are popular for
children’s birthdays and office teambuilding exercises. The chocolate
is outrageously expensive - 4 euros for a tiny 70g bar - but there’s a
wide range of mad flavours. Frankly nothing out of the ordinary but the
workshop might be fun and worth going in to see the biggest chocolate
Mannekin-Pis in the world.
Café Tasse 15,
rue du Marché aux Herbes. The company, with its worldwide network of
distributors, is far from being artisanal, but their individually
wrapped neapolitans mix high-cocoa-content chocolate with exotic
flavours and spices, such as black pepper, rock salt, chilli, etc.
Jean-Philippe Darcis Petite
Rue au Beurre 14, This Verviers-based Maitre chocolatier has outlets in
Brussels and Liège as well as an online shop. He also does cakes and macaroons.
Nicolas Arnaud
Rue Américaine 93, Ixelles Another UK-trained French invader
specializing in chocolates and macaroons, open Sundays. His speciality
is “choux de Bruxelles”, little choux pastries filled with exotic
flavoured cream such as toffee, mango or raspberry, profiteroles with a
difference.
L’Azteque Baptiste Charrier, Chaussée d’Alsemberg 469, Uccle
Valentino
avenue Charles Quint 420, Ganshoren, Brussels outlet of
Dilbeek-based chocolatier who also brews his own beer to go with the
dark chocolate. Double delight!
You
could save on time and shoe leather and just circumnavigate the Place
des Sablons and sidestreets where you will find a bunch of upmarket
chocolate shops:
Alex & Alex, Rue de la Paille 32
Patrick Roger,
place du Grand Sablon 43 The slightly mad French chocolate artist who
won the “Meilleur ouvrier de France” award in 2011, has finally opened a
Brussels boutique, which is worth a visit if only to see the fabulous
chocolate sculptures in the window. The sales people wear dark polo
necks and behave like something out of Ab Fab.
Passion Rue Bodenbroek 2
Pure, Rue de Rollebeek 48
Pierre Marcolini, Rue
des Minimes 1, outlets in Eurostar terminal, Woluwe Shopping and Rob.
Uber trendy, the sales staff are snooty and the main shop is decorated
like an Uccle knocking shop. Lovely boxes, though.
Wittamer Place du Grand Sablon 6 Mainly known for their pastel-coloured macarons in exciting flavours, but they do a mean chocolate too.
Alternatively, check out several of the above mentioned masters in one gorging session at La Maison des Maitres Chocolatiers at no. 4 Grand’Place, where 10 of the greats share some of their secrets. Website Portail du Chocolat Belge is a catalogue of Belgian artisan chocolatiers with addresses of outlets. Chocolocate will help serious addicts source quality gear, or order Pascal Nihoul chocs online through Rob, 28 boulevard de la Woluwe or Rhino in Uccle
Out of town
Centho Duisburg (Tervuren),
Edouard Florenville
Marioca 9820 Merelbeke
Ducobu 16, rue de la Station, Waterloo
De Graeve in Zelzate, small town north of Ghent, or online shop
Dooms 9280 Lebbeke (Dendermonde)
Meurisse, Brusselsesteenweg 450, 1500 Halle
Van Coillie of Roeselare online sales only through website Chocolate Online
Valentino Ninoofsesteenweg 1026, 1703 Schepdaal (just past Dilbeek)
If you prefer to take your filthy habit right out of town, the following towns have reputable dealers:
Antwerp: Caluwe (sustainable sourced cocoa) - Goossens, Isabellalei 6 and on line shop - Del Rey Appelmansstraat 5 - Günther Watté - The Chocolate Line, Meir 50
Chateau Blanc, Torfbrug 1
Chateau Blanc, Torfbrug 1
Bruges: Dumon,
Eiermarkt & Walplaats Lovely chocolates, and not excessively
expensive - 5 euros something for a 250g selection box, but they’re a
bit dictatorial about making up a bespoke selection for you.
Ghent - Luc en Cedric van Hoorebeke Jan Breydelstraat 1
The Ghent-based Greek immigrant family who
created the Leonidas chocolate brand also franchised another
international chain of stores under their family name Daskalides
and still have two shops in Ghent, on the Grote Markt and the
Vrijdagmarkt, although both closed on Sundays. Also in Antwerp,
Hasselt, Liège, and Brussels
Yuzu (Nicholas Vanaise) is Ghent's answer to Marcolini, with a Japanese twist.
Yuzu (Nicholas Vanaise) is Ghent's answer to Marcolini, with a Japanese twist.
Liège: Benoit Nihant Passage Lemonnier and online shop
Namur: La Maison Bertrand, 30 rue des Croisiers - Fronville, 5 rue de Fer - Carrément Bon (Raphael Giot), 11 rue Saint-Jacques
Please excuse me. I’m feeling a bit sick, now.
