mmm delicious chocolate. i will make the best...if i can only find a good school to help me get there.
anyone know of the best chocolate/pastry school in belgium?
A cousin of mine is a chocolatier and pastry chef, who studied his craft in my hometown of Hasselt. However, he's a firefighter these days. Go figure. Guess making pralines wasn't exciting enough for him, heh heh. I do remember him making some truly delicious stuff. Ah, those were the days, fresh pralines delivered straight to the door... I think most schools in Belgium would be a pretty good bet for you, as chocolate in general is above world standards all over the place. Most chocolatiers, from what I gather, don't make their chocolate from scratch but buy their raw chocolate in bulk from mass manufacturers such as Callebout. Making this "food of the gods" is a true science with minute differences in temperature making a difference. FYI: Callebout also exports, to Hagendasz amongst others. Oh, and did you also know that it was the Belgians who successfully battled the French in court a few years back when they tried to have the minimum percentage standard of cocoa that's required to call something 'chocolate' lowered, in the name of corporate profits? Yeah, they take their chocolate pretty serious over there, in (what I consider to be) the chocolate capital of the world. The Swiss are damn good too, but not quite as good as them Belgians. Good luck on your search!
d.
