Between my third and fourth year of college, I was working as an intern in a motorsport team based in Belgium. It wasn’t very far from France, and I was quite bewildered with “the international aspect” of this internship. I won’t lie. Spending 3 months in Belgium wasn’t as exciting as spending 6 months in South Korea.

But wow, it happened to be one of my greatest experience abroad.

Belgium is such a lovely country! You can visit everything in a short period of time. Since the country has a small geographical area (30 689 km²): you can run the country in less than 3 hours…and Highways are free. Amazing for students, right? 😉

However, the best part of this journey, in my humble opinion, was Brussels. If you’re a glutton, a gourmand, a big eater, a person who enjoys eating and often eats too much…This city is your new heaven.

A gourmand’s temptation: Chocolate

When talking about Belgium, you can’t escape this thought: Chocolate. Dark, with milk, red, white or mixed with whatever ingredients, there is for everyone’s taste. Craving for a nice chocolate bar? Want to hear the exquisite sound when you take a bite of it? Want to smell a myriad of aromas when entering a chocolate shop? Follow my gourmand advice! 😀

A small pleasure at a small cost: Original Happiness (gourmand budget €)

Original Happiness chocolate bars

Chocolate is like a passion. When you feel low, take a bite. When you feel happy, still take a bite. I feel compelled to eat one small square a day (okay one big square) …And this little vice can weight on your student budget. Luckily for you, I’ve found this little gold nugget: Original Happiness. You can find its chocolate bars in Delhaize market for less than 2 euros. It’s so delicious…and the packaging doesn’t help either. As you will see they offer a large variety of Cacao. So, you will necessarily find one that is to your taste. And as they’re cheap you can stack them to try different ones (speaking from experience). Take my money!

My “Coup de Coeur”, Vandenhende in Etterbeek (gourmand budget €€)

Compare to some other chocolatery factory, this artisanal chocolatery tends to keep a low profile: you will have to meander the cobblestone alleys of Etterbeek district to find it. But don’t worries, the aroma of chocolate will help you. I swear you could smell it from Le parc du Cinquantenaire, located 5 minutes foot walk away! The owner is a lovely guy! It’s a familial chocolatery and you can feel this atmosphere when you enter their shop. They offer a pretty rare chocolate: the ruby chocolate. With a rosy color, this chocolate has a very sweet and fruity taste. You will taste something like you have never tasted before. Don’t expect a strong 80% raw cacao flavour with this one, but rather a totally new experience.

Experiment the chocolate with Pierre Marcolini (gourmand budget €€€)

For aficionados and expert gourmand, there is no needs to introduce this famous chocolatery. If you want to experiment new taste such as matcha chocolate, or yuuzu chocolate, don’t hesitate, it’s the right place. There are many Pierre Marcolini shops in the capital.

For those of you less familiar with the name of this chocolate master here are some crunchy facts that my tempt you to have a look in one of his shops.

He decided that he would become a chocolate maker/ baker when he was only 14. So for chocolate matters, you can trust his years of experience.

He is one among the only twenty chocolate makers in Europe who crafts entirely his product from the selection of the cocoa beans to the final chocolate creation. He is a firm believer of the movement thus called “bean-to-bar”. In 2015 he told the Figaro (french newspaper) : “Like wine, cocoa has its regions, varieties, great vintages. He tells stories about the jungle he grew in, the know-how of the artisan who roasted it, giving it character and soul”. If that is not a declaration of love to this noble material…

Working with 14 different cocoa plantations, he travels about 100 000 km per year to maintain direct contacts with the producers including Brazil, Ecuador and Mexico. He declared to pay no less that $5000 the ton of cocoa beans when the average is around $3000. This to simply make the price “fair” and guarantee decent earnings to the producers. So knowing that if you bite in one of his chocolates, you might feel a tiny bit less guilty.

From the beginning, he wanted to make a difference in the world of Belgian chocolate. Deciding to divide by three the quantities of sugar traditionnaly used and offering lighter pieces (6-8 gr instead of 15-20 commonly found) the palate is not oversaturated. Leaving then some space for more complex aromas that made the reputation of the chocolate maker.

Hope this cocoa-based story entertained you and made you more cultivated. We’ll meet again soon for new Belgian specialties you would not like to miss : Waffles with chocolate!

Coming soon…