Marcolini chocolate bars
In the heart of Brussels , to the chocolate classics Belgian - Leonidas, (1912), Mary (1919) or the oldest NeuHaus (1857) - new competitors are appearing. Among them, the most powerful is Marcolini, which in just fifteen years has become a place of pilgrimage for lovers of sweet black.
Almost all of them are located in the Place Grand Sablon , where its careful shop windows, which open on the facades of buildings protected as assets of cultural interest, exert a great power of attraction. Here it is clear that the union is strength. As was the case in the Middle Ages with the craft guilds , concentrated in certain areas, they look at each other carefully, trying every day to outdo themselves and their neighbor.
Patrick Roger, the chocolate sculptor He opened his doors in December 2011, and is one of the last to arrive. Roger's youth and French origin place him master chocolatier faced with a not insignificant challenge, that of carving out a niche in the most reputable square in the world of chocolate.
To his liking for the creation of special recipes -such as chocolates with green lemon , with honey either fruit jam - His passion for design and art is added. Its refined and characteristic blue-green cases, reminiscent of jewelers , show special care in the conception of the packaging and graphic design, without forgetting their vagaries as a sculptor. However, his main working material is chocolate : this summer you can see one of his works in the shop window, three hippos , almost life-size, frolicking in a puddle, all, of course, chocolate.
Roger Boutique
chocolate and champagne
To make a difference, a good idea is to join forces: in this case, the alliance is between Belgian chocolate and French champagne, and the result is Alex&Alex. It is located in an old antique shop, and provides a novel concept with its store-bar format, a place where one can sit down and taste both delicacies.
The chocolate is created and produced by the master chocolatier Frederic Blondel , known for its geometric shapes, for the fusion of disparate ingredients -like praline with wasabi or with spicy chile - and for special chocolates for the champagne which include fruits such as tangerines. another partner, Kristina T'Seyen , brings the experience she gained in a chocolate shop in Mexico DF , Y Charles-Eric Vilain personally advise clients.
As for champagne, they offer brands like Tattinger or Abel Jobart. For the most faithful they have created a club through their website that allows its members to participate in multiple events around champagne tasting and tastings of new chocolates.
Macolini Summer Collection
But there are other sweet proposals that take positions in the city:
The most traditional cookies Brussels does not live only on chocolate: since 1829 the Dandoy house has been the reference in biscuits and biscuits. In recent years it has opened several stores with a revamped design , without losing its identity, and there are now seven stores in the city. Among its numerous varieties, the specialties derived from speculoos stand out, a cookie dough with spices that was originally eaten only at Christmas, and that giving has become a sign of the house. Every store is different , respecting the original structures, but they are easily recognized thanks to the well-defined colors of their logo in the graphic image and, especially, on the packages. In all the stores its characteristic old wooden molds , which give the biscuits the shape of animals.
the eastern touch According to a study conducted by Corinne Torrekens , a member of the Department of Political Science at the Free University of Brussels, 17% of the population of Brussels is Muslim. 70% comes from Morocco, and 20% from Turkey. So it is not surprising the proliferation of restaurants catering to the needs of a predominantly Muslim clientele, and there are also, of course, patisseries , sweets being one of their favorite foods.
La Patisserie Orientale La Rose de Damas offers a wide variety of oriental sweets , with the baclava cake in the lead: a kingdom of walnut paste, phyllo dough and honey , seasoned with anise, sesame, nuts or figs.
Pastels are the only ornament in a space of simple lines, in black and white. Carefully placed on plates, they form peaked mountains that powerfully attract attention in the shop window.
The Macolini store in Brussels