7/3/2023: Belgian Chocolate [Chef’s Kiss]

We aimed small in Brussels. Out of the three of us, no one had any day long activities they NEEDED to do. Our mission was simple: check out the town, eat a waffle, and make some chocolate. Today we made some frickin’ chocolate.

We weren’t really sure what to expect in Brussels. The main language is French. We kind of thought it would be Dutch. It’s a huge melting pot, at least the city center is. The variety of cuisine seemed like what you would find in Southern California - sandwich shops, Thai, Vietnamese, French, burger joints, veggie/vegan spots etc etc. The architecture was beautiful and untamed. Not as pretty as Amsterdam but much more consistent than LA.

Our chocolate experience was directed by a seemingly French chocolate maker. Like a chef with the hat and everything, but very specialized. She explained to us the different steps in the chocolate making process - sourcing the cacao, mixing with sugar or milk, heating, and chocolate making.

We got to see what the different types of cacao fruit looked like. We tasted the sweet membrane that embraces the ‘bean.’ We tasted the raw cacao as well as variations of cacao and sugar. Then the fun started.

We poured warm milk chocolate into molds and added any of 20 different toppings before the chocolate crystallized and hardened. We dipped truffles into cacao and coconut powder. And then, we drew designs with warm dark chocolate and tried to add toppings but quickly failed as it hardened too quick.

The best part? We got to take it all home and it is so delicious. We should’ve bought more.

That night Savvy and I met our first real new mate of the trip, Bronti (Brun-Tea) who we spent the rest of the evening with.

~ J