Cacao-art of Pierre Marcolini in the Marcolini chocolaterie, Brussels

I did discover the chocolate masterpieces of Pierre Marcolini around 6 years ago and since then I am just hooked...I am aware that a lot of people think its a bit posh or that you may give more money just for the glitter, but I do believe that one pays for better quality. Pierre Marcolini is one of the very few cholatiers still running the "bean-to-bar" operations: which means he knows and selects the beans he works with. There is something for everyone: dark, milk or white...praline, ganache or truffles...or just a chocolate bar...And one can (literally) taste his love to chocolate in the final results.


As I am a big dark-chocolate fan I was really thrilled some years ago with his box of chocolates called "Saveurs du monde".  Each chocolate carries the name of the country where the cocoa beans come from...Ecuador, Madagascar, Venezuela, Ghana, Brasil, etc...My taste has changed not that long ago ( from sweet direction dark chocolate) and I was amazed with this selection of Marcolini to discover the different flavours of cocoa beans depending on their country of origin!.

 

So in my eyes his products are indeed exquisite, but they do take you to a new chocolate world, a cocoa-world of amazing taste and great quality! For the Christmas season 2011 the Marcolini boutique in Brussels is also offering some new chocolate-creations in the shop at "la Place du Grand Sablon", displayed in the shop-windows...Enjoy with your eyes (and may be even note down his name for a tasting next time you are around:-)

 

Gent or Gand or Ghent, (Flemish/French/English)?!

As the Netherlands are not soooo big country, its quiet handy to go on a daily trip in the weekend to a town in one of its neighbour countries. This time I have chosen Ghent in the Flemish part of Belgium. In French the name is Gand and in Flemish: Gent, so dont be surprised...

The charm of the town lies in its medieval architecture which is remarkably well preserved and restored. Its centre is claimed to be the largest carfree area in Belgium, may be thats why it was a big mess to find a parking lot on a Saturday. In the middle of the old city the castle Gravensteen (on the pic above) from the 12th century adds additional fairy-tale flavour. Within its century-long history it was used as a courthouse, a prison and a factory.

Of course, as everywhere in Belgium, there were some creative chocolatiers:-)