From NatGeo, a list of the ten best chocolatiers in the world. One of 'em is prolly in a mall near you...
The other surprising thing on this list? Half of the "ten best" are here in the USofA.
7. Godiva Chocolatier (Brussels, Belgium and worldwide)I've been known to drop a hundred or more Yankee Dollars in a single visit to the Godiva store... mainly coz there's not one near me, the closest bein' over two hours away. I tend to stock up when I go.
The beginning of Godiva chocolates traces back to a 1920s chocolate- and sweet-making workshop owned and operated by the Draps family in Brussels, Belgium. Their “pralines,” typical Belgian filled chocolates, were sold in the large, highly fashionable shops. At the age of 14, Joseph Draps went into the family business. Over the years, he developed both his ability and creative talent as a master chocolate-maker as well as his business sense. He decided to create a prestige range of chocolates and to give it an evocative name. He chose “Godiva” and marketed his chocolates in instantly recognizable gold boxes. In recognition of its excellence, Godiva has been rewarded with an appointment as supplier to the Court of Belgium. Godiva continues to be an innovator in gourmet chocolate.It's all about finishing touches at Godiva. (Photograph by Everjean, Flickr. Click for larger.)
The other surprising thing on this list? Half of the "ten best" are here in the USofA.
Unfortunately I inherited my Mother's chocolate addiction. She used to say that Nirvana for her(as someone who dieted all her life to maintain her girlish figure) was to live by herself on a tropical isle with an unlimited supply of chocolates and be able to gorge herself to her hearts content and gain 300 lbs without anyone around to see or criticize/laugh at her. LOL!!!
ReplyDeletePS: I once worked in the Budget office of New Orleans City Govt while writing my PhD dissertation with a red-head named Judy Frankofsky (whose husband Russ also worked there) who once said, upon my mention of my Mother's and my addiction: "Hey, I understand--just give me a five-pound box of chocolate cremes and a gallon of cold milk and I'm good to go!" LOL!!
DeletePPS: My Father, OTOH, couldn't stand sweets. He had worked in an ice-cream plant during the summer while in HS and said the constant smell of sickening sweet chocolate, butterscotch syrup, etc., used in the process forever turned him off to sweets of almost any kind...
DeleteMy Mom had a chocolate addiction, too. My mother discovered we had a local chocolatier in Bourg-La-Reine (the town we lived in) shortly after my father was assigned to Paris and there was ALWAYS some form of fancy-assed chocolates on hand in the house. And you should have seen Easter... which was as much her holiday as it was us kids'.
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ReplyDelete"Half of the "ten best" are here in the USofA."
...and 40% of those are in Northern California... which is only about 200 miles south of here.
Yeah, I saw the Berkeley company... and I've never heard of 'em.
DeleteDamnit Buck. Now I can't stop drooling.
ReplyDeleteI just got back from Wally-World... where I bought FOUR bags o' Reese's Minis. It ain't Godiva, but it works.
DeleteChocolate IS chocolate. It's all good...
DeleteWhen I was in Riyadh, Arabia (spent about 8 years there during the Iran/Iraq war) we stayed in the slums of downtown in a hotel that was probably 1 star in 1950, The Al Yamamah Hotel. But it was home. The houseboys were all Filipino, the gardeners were Korean, etc, etc, and the Templar Knights were all American.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, we had a real French pastry chef. The best Pita bread I ever tasted (anywhere), and cakes, cookies, pastries to die for. Needless to say, we built a track around the compound so we could jog every morning, or we would eat ourselves right out of our flight suit size. I probably lost 100 pounds throwing gravel with a shovel. The commander said he'd get us gravel, but we'd have to spread it. Sure enough, the gravel was dumped about 2500 feet from where it was needed (argh).
The one thing I liked, was he used less sugar. I'm convinced Americans use way too much sugar in their recipes.
There was no booze allowed in country, but once every three weeks I got a double scotch at the USMTM Army compound, which allowed use of their private bar for one hour. They operated under some sort of embassy rule that allowed booze as long as no one got drunk, or the booze left the premises. Anyway, we'd bring a box of french pastries and the Army guys would pee all over themselves...
My father had a story about going TDY to Saudi back in the '50s that revolved around "church" services in the military attache's compound, wherein the "priest" would dispense "holy water." I can't remember all the details, only the subject and a hazy recollection of details. It was pretty funny, the way he told it. At least his friends thought so.
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