Chocolates, Beer, Bikes & Barges

by: Susan Davis

This is an excerpt from a fantastic article about a womans travels in Europe. She gives a wonderful description of Belgian [tag]chocolatiers[/tag] and Brussels.  This article made me desperately crave another trip to [tag]Belgium[/tag]. The history, architecture, culture and of course the [tag]chocolate[/tag]!

….If it’s Tuesday, it must be Belgium. After breakfast, we began our morning walking tour of the 17th century Grand Place. It was actually 8:30 Sunday morning and I marveled that in over a dozen visits here, I’ve never seen this place so empty. It echoed in silence as tourists slept and the locals were gone for holiday. Sunlight brilliantly flooded the gothic cathedrals, classical facades and art nuveau houses. We were alone and it was breathtaking.

We then visited the famed confectioner “Planet Chocolate” that opened especially for our group. Pedestrians peered in the windows with curiosity. A great demonstration was given by chocolatier Jon, grandson of the founder of this factory renowned for producing 67 different flavors.


We learned about the history of cocoa. The ancient Mayans considered it an aphrodisiac and Montezuma consumed it in copious amounts. It was made famous in Belgium by J. Nuehus who added the praline hazelnut cream. Each cocoa fruit contains 25 beans. The best comes from Ghana, Ivory Coast and Indonesia.


We learned all about the roasting and fermenting processes. Jon expounded on how healthy his dark chocolate is with more magnesium and antioxidants. He even asserts that it boosts energy and thus helps you loose weight…convoluted thinking. It was however, once sold at chemists as antidepressant medicine and unlimited amounts were given to soldiers in wartime to combat stress.


At the end of the lecture, silver trays of truffles were presented along with a cup of hot ganache, which tasted like chocolate soup. I never really cared for chocolate but it was infatuation at first bite.

Our next stop was Chocolate Manon which I was told is run by a “chocolate nazi” who will lock the doors if we’re one minute late. This small factory concentrates on quality over quantity and fancy packaging. The educational presentation was given by the owner Christian, who is both serious and hilarious. He only uses the highest quality vanilla, sugar, butter and 70% cocoa powder.


This is a real factory with enormous chocolate blocks piled high and brown drippings everywhere. Sorry Hershey’s, but the cocoa here is not replaced with palm oil, chemicals, coloring, vegetable fats and lard. This is as pure as it gets and it’s better than Swiss. They sell direct to Bergoff and Neimans in NYC.


There are 443 chocolate factories in Belgium all with the competitive spirit of Tour de France between them. Godiva still reigns supreme. Christian explained that white chocolate is really an oxymoron. It contains only milk, sugar, cream and 21% white cocoa butter. As he lectured, he continually dipped his finger in to vats to taste his latest batch, while quickly running back and forth with frenetic energy from molds to freezer. He has a true passion for his product and consumes about 250 grams or a 1/2 lb a day, yet is as thin as Calista Flockhart. I love my job, but would swap a month with him anytime.


Over 1000 fillings are used inside the hollow shells. One by one, hundreds of shells are filled by hand. Each piece is a mini-sculpture. We’re invited to squeeze the ganache pastry bags, but made a terrible mess and had to eat our mistakes. Nothing is discarded here. Even table scrapings will be remelted. Dark chocolate can be stored up to 15 years and molded into any shape. We’re shown pictures of intricate violins, a woman’s formal dress and a life size dinning room table and chairs all made of chocolate…

I hope you enjoyed this article as much as I did, I'm off to hunt down some [tag]dark chocolate[/tag] and [tag]truffles[/tag] to quench the thirst for Belgium!

Suzy Davis is President and founder of www.AdventuresForSingles.com. For 30 years she has visited over 150 countries and practically invented the concept of singles travel.