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Belgian chocolate is famous worldwide and is one of the symbols and the pride of Belgium. The handmade ‘pralines’ come in hundreds of different forms and is the most widely traveled Belgian specialty. Belgium produces 172 million kilos of chocolate per year with more than 2,000 chocolate shops throughout the country. On average, every Belgian consumes 7.1 kg of chocolate per year.

Experts say that the Mayans and Aztecs were drinking chocolate as far back as 2,600 years ago. It was the beverage of the rulers and gods. The scientific name for the cacao tree is ‘Theobroma cacao’, which means ‘food of the gods’. The ‘chacau haa’ of the Mayans, was a chocolate drink that would give them wisdom and power. By the time the Spanish reached the Maya, around the 1500s, everyone was drinking chocolate. When chocolate arrived in Belgium it was seen as a great gift, because of all of the history and the legends of its medicinal effect.

Chocolate is made from the seeds of the cacao tree. These trees were originally discovered in South America, but are now growing around the equator: Ivory Coast, Ecuador, Brazil, Ghana and Zaire. A cacao pod is 15-30 cm long and contains 25 to 50 seeds, the cacao beans. These beans are dried in the sun and sent to factories, where they are mixed, cleaned and then roasted. In the cacao mill the cocoa powder is obtained and the cocoa butter is released. By mixing these ingredients with sugar and milk powder, the chocolate is produced.

In 1697, Heinrich Escher, the mayor of Zurich drank his first cup of chocolate on the Grand-Place in Brussels and exported the recipe to Switzerland. Since then, the two countries rival for the reputation of their chocolates. In 1912, the world-famous ‘pralines’ were invented by Jean Neuhaus. The Belgian chocolate-maker (whose family was of Swiss origin) made the first hard chocolate shell (couverture) which allowed for smooth fillings and creams inside. Today pralines come in many different forms, filled with fresh cream, marzipan, liqueur or caramel and with different flavors as Cointreau, coffee, chocolate and vanilla.

Belgian chocolate is unique because of the quality of ingredients (Belgium and Switzerland have first option to buy the best cacao beans from Africa) and manufacturing techniques. Almost all the praline and especially the decoration are still today manufactured by hand using original equipment.

The chocolate is available in specialist shops all over Belgium and these small chocolatiers are popular for tourists. The Belgian government keeps strict control over chocolate production, so the quality of most outlets is similar. In 1920, the Belgian family Kestekides launched their brand Leonidas. Their pralines and chocolate confectionery was sold at low prices through window sales in the busiest streets of Belgium, later in Europe and then the rest of the world, until they have become as popular as Starbucks in the USA. The pralines are sold per piece, per gram and per ready made box. Jean Neuhaus designed an elegant packaging for his pralines: the famous rectangular box (also called ballotin). Today the ballotin de pralines still holds the Belgian chocolates all over the world.