Europe: Chocolates BELGIUM

Belgium was a mini stopover for the sister and I prior to commencing our tour around Greece and Italy. We stayed in Brussels over four nights to which, every day was an opportunity for me to jog around until the sun rose, in an attempt to stay fit by burning extra calories from my meals.

My main agenda in Belgium was to be acquainted with their chocolates, in a similar fashion to what was done in Switzerland a few years before aka step into all the shops and try both the exclusive and classics. The sister was more than willing to go along in exchange for a justified amount of time spent roaming other parts of Belgium.

There were 5 main chocolatiers that were already familiar to me via extensive research and that would be Neuhaus, Galler, Leonidas, Godiva and Pierre Marcolini. I won't bore anyone with the history of each chocolatier which can be easily found on their website. These chocolatiers can be easily found at every corner of Brussels, making it all the more easier to get your chocolate fix sorted.

Neuhaus and Galler are quite comparable in terms of price and quality, the latter can be found in supermarkets although prices wise, there is not much of a difference. I love Neuhaus's fruity flavoured individual pralines and found them quite innovative in this aspect. Galler on the other hand, had a better selection of chocolate bars that are more portable and less susceptible to breakage in the suitcase.

Moving on to the slightly more expensive chocolatiers, Godiva and Pierre Marcolini are no stranger to giving chocolate fans a whiff of indulgence. Godiva does have a cafe in Brussels for patrons wanting to satisfy their chocolate fix in the form of cakes, waffles or in a drink.

Pierre Marcolini's range of chocolates are very detail orientated in terms of their origin and flavour profile. Yes, they do have a classic range but surely one would be better off trying something different whilst in a foreign country? Albeit pricier, they do make an impressive gift if the need to please someone arises.

After much research and study, my favourite chocolatier would have to be Godiva. Their chocolates had the perfect ratio of cocoa and milk, leaving a somewhat memorable aftertaste on the palate. Heading here for a satisfying piece of chocolate in its purest form wouldn't be such a bad idea. They do have a good variety of packaged gifts which survived my travels over the next month around Europe. Kudos to having good packaging as well.