The story began in 1857 when Jean Neuhaus settled in Brussels and opened a pharmacy. He covered his medicine in a layer of chocolate to make them easier to handle. In 1912, his grandson replaced the medicines with fresh cream, thus creating the first filled chocolate. He called it “praline”, which then became an immediate success.

Inside the Choco-Story, the Chocolate Museum in Bruges, Belgium. Photo: Ngoc Diep

For many years, chocolate has been a high-end product, which is now rated by connoisseurs and considered an international symbol of love. Odile Vandermeeren, who is in charge of the Belgian chocolate booth at the Annual Charity Bazaar 2015 and a chocoholic, introduced the diversity of their products:“We have Bellsola. It is made here but with Belgian original chocolate. And we have Guylian also with a little bit more sugar and funny shapes. We have maybe one hundred types of chocolate in Belgium because we have designers of chocolate like Marcolini or Gala. They are new and young designers so they are doing a lot of new chocolate with new tastes. New tastes and new shapes also, really contemporary chocolate. This is why we have many kinds of chocolate.”

One of many chocolate shops in Bruges, Belgium. Photo: Ngoc Diep

Belgian chocolate is a deep culinary tradition dating back to the 17^th, when Spanish explorers brought cocoa beans from South America. At that time, cocoa was enjoyed as a luxury drink for the royals, nobility and artists who visited the royal courts in Brussels. Today’s Belgian chocolate brands maintain true to traditional manufacturing techniques. To Odile, eating Belgian chocolate will not make people gain weight like some people often misunderstand:“You are not going fat when you eat chocolate because the Belgian chocolate is made with a lot of cocoa, not so much sugar. In fact, it’s really good for your health. It’s good for your heart and it’s good for your mind. For me, I like stronger taste the most like 82% of chocolate inside. I really like when it is strong. We would like to eat it with a cup of coffee. Bellsola have 82% and the really strong is 92%. In Belgium, I think they like maybe 52% to 82% because they are in the middle.”

A chocolate shop at the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, the famous glazed shopping arcade in Brussels, Belgium. Photo: Ngoc Diep

Belgian pralines emerged as a unique way to combine quality cocoa with flavors. These pralines are not the same as the sugary treats offered in American candy shops. Belgian pralines could be filled with a variety of flavored nougats or creams, such as coffee, hazelnut, fruit or more chocolate. Each Belgian chocolate piece combines quality cocoa beans with pure sugar and cocoa butter, along with fruit and nuts sourced from top quality ingredients. Odile told us the secret inside Belgium chocolate’s attraction:“All the time we have good ingredients. And the point is that the chocolate maker factories put more cocoa than other ingredients inside. This is why it tastes really “true”, really “chocolate”. The designers’ goal is to find the really true chocolate, so it is really important to choose the cocoa, the really good one. Me and my husband, we are eating chocolate a lot of times. We have to eat chocolate two times per day. We cannot live without chocolate because chocolate makes you strong and happy. The taste is strong and you will be really happy with this.”

What makes Belgian chocolate unique is the quality of ingredients and an almost fanatical adherence to Old World manufacturing techniques. Even in today’s world, most of the chocolate is still made by hand using original equipment. Each year, Belgium produces 270,000 tons of chocolate and boasts more than 2,000 chocolate shops throughout the country- carrying on a tradition of handmade recipes to produce a unique flavor that Belgian people are very proud of. Odile again:“We grew up with chocolate, you know, since I am young I eat chocolate. And for me, when I eat chocolate, I find the time in Belgium. We are really proud that you know it and you like it. We are happy to share what we like for the people. And if I come to Vietnam and Vietnamese tell me that they know Belgian chocolate here, I am so happy to share with you this taste.”

For over a hundred years, Belgian chocolate has become a world standard luxurious dessert. It has been a lure for lovers, the indulgence of kings and today, everyone’s favorite sweet.