BBCW- "Best Belgian Chocolate of the World"

[xxchef]

My sister just returned from a trip to Belgium and brought me back sample boxes from two of what are being promoted as the ten best artisan chocolatiers in the country.

Having just finished a particularly grueling holiday candy making season here I wasn't sure I would be able to enjoy someone else's chocolates but I was pleasantly surprised by the assortments. Each was clearly made from the highest quality ingredients and with quite a bit of skill. While all were obviously the products of semi-automated chocolate operations (large volume molding and enrobing work was evident), they were, for the most part excellent.

Each of the chocolatiers was a member of BBCW, which I had never heard of before so I checked out their web site: http://www.bbcw.be/members.php . It has brief write-up on each of their members and each of them has a short video about their operations (to see the whole string of videos at once use this link: http://www.bbcw.be/content.php?id=89 ). It's about 41 minutes long and there are English subtitles if you dont speak Dutch or French and the videos are really quite good, with each chocolatier showing how they make one of their specialties. OK, watching the GIANT CHOCOLATE BABY being made at Marioca was a little creepy, but the rest were very interesting.

Check it out.

Edited January 9, 2010 by xxchef (log)

[Lior]

thank you so much! I loved watching the video and checking each chocolatier!!

[K8memphis]

Wow that was delicious! mmmmm

I loved the baby--amazing--the detail and precision.

Edited January 9, 2010 by K8memphis (log)

[lironp]

That baby freaked me out!

Very interesting, I wish I could have a taste of all of those chocolates!

[Kerry Beal]

Loved the little couches.

Interesting that the baby seems to have been molded in silicone. They must have started with a doll and made a silicone cast, then put it in a plaster support.