Day 15
Today I met with the owner of Dumon Chocolate Shop, Jelle Descamps. The shop was only a three minute walk from my Airbnb. Upon arrival, I was greeted with hot chocolate. This was the best hot chocolate I have ever had. I was given a glass of warm milk and was then instructed to take pieces of their chocolates and stir them into the warm milk. Mr. Descamps sat with me in the store and answered all of my questions.
Dumon is one of the 55 chocolate shops in Bruges, Dumon having three of those shops. The company started in 1922 and Mr. Descamps purchased Dumon in 2010. I visited him at their newest shop which opened in 2014. Mr. Descamps mentioned that their is competition between the local chocolate shops but they are all friendly partners. I asked him what Dumon is most known for. He stated that Dumon is known for their pralines. They offer over 80 varities of pralines and the selection is always changing. His company is always playing around with new fillings, herbs, spices, and techniques to create new pralines with different tastes, layers, and textures.
Mr. Descamps did admit that the Swiss produce a much better milk chocolate than Belgium. He stated that the Swiss have the countrysides with the cows that can roam and eat much better herbs and grasses than in Belgium. Belgium is most known for their pralines. At Dumon, a praline is 10 grams per piece. These pralines are smaller than other shops in Bruges as well as the pralines produced in Switzerland. However, Dumon offers a wide variety of tastes, flavors, and textures. The Belgium chocolatiers are always trying to come up with new praline combinations. In September, Bruges holds the Belgium chocolate summit. Here, chocolatiers from all over Belgium get together to discuss new initiatives in the chocolate business and share ideas for new combinations.
Similar to Du Rhone in Geneva, Dumon does not perform a bean to bar process. They are too small of a company to perform this task. Mr. Descamps stated that only a few shops in Bruges do bean to bar. Dumon begins their chocolate process with a small morsel of chocolate, just like Du Rhone. Du Rhone added more ingredients after melting down these morsels, however, Dumon will only add spices and herbs. Mr. Descamps said that he wants the chocolate to speak for itself. All these other ingredients are not necessary. Most of the cocoa beans that go into Dumon's chocolate come from Columbia. He stressed that Columbia is a very important local market for his company. They also get some of their cocoa beans from Tanzania and Vietnam. There are about 1,000 varieties of cocoa beans, so their can be a wide variety of taste in chocolate. Unlike Du Rhone, Dumon uses milk powder in their chocolates. Du Rhone was the only company that used both liquid and powdered milk. Most of the ingredients are locally sourced. Some of their nuts are imported, as well as the vanilla.
When comparing the three countries, it seems as though Switzerland has a better milk chocolate and Belgium focuses more on their pralines. Mr. Descamps said that Germany is not even in the league of being chocolate competition. He stated that most of their chocolate is produced industrially in mass quantities. They just produce chocolate bars, not fine chocolates. Mr. Descamps said that Belgium has the strength in combination with fillings such as ganache with fresh cream, playing with ingredient ratios, and exploring with new ingredients. He did mention that American chocolate is much sweeter than European chocolate. He thinks that we load our chocolate with sugar because sugar is cheap, therefore companies in America can mass produce chocolate very cheaply. We also talked about how chocolate is a treat and a decadence here rather than a casual food item to eat back in America.
I had a lovely time at Dumon and I thank Mr. Descamps for meeting with me and answering all of my questions. Here is a picture of Mr. Descamps and I as well as a look at the inside of their store.
After my meeting at Dumon, I went to the Choco Story museum. This was about a 10 minute walk from my Airbnb. Now Brussels also had a Choco Story but Bruges' was so much better. Everything was neatly displayed and there was so much information. The first few floors of the museum dealt with the cocoa beans. I learned that the Aztecs and the Mayans put much value on cocoa beans and even used them for currency. For example, in 1545, you could purchase 1 rabbit for 10 cocoa beans. The museum also went through the history of Belgium's chocolate. Interestingly, the praline was invented by Jean Neuhaus in Belgium in 1912. There were also some fun facts such as "Does chocolate cause cavities?" Their answer: "No, on the contrary, chocolate prevents cavities. "Does chocolate help to cause acne?" Their answer: No medical study shows a link with chocolate and acne." "Does chocolate make you fat?" Their answer: "If you are slim you can, for example eat dark chocolate and you will not gain weight. If you are overweight, slim down first, then you can reintroduce chocolate into your diet. If you continue with moderation, you will not get fat." I am not sure if I believe all their answers but I found them interesting. The last part of the museum was a demonstration of how to make a Belgian praline. The demonstration was interesting to watch and I even got to sample a praline. The praline had a hazelnut filling, which was good but I would not purchase something like that. Overall, I really enjoyed this museum.
Next, I wanted to find the windmills in Bruges that my mother had recommended me to visit. I walked for about 20 minutes and found myself in a beautiful park with two windmills.
Bruges is definitely my favorite city so far and I really do not want to leave. I wish I could explore for a few more days but onward to Germany. PS. I did not have time to get my Belgium waffle of the day. Oh well, I guess 4 waffles was enough.
Dumon is one of the 55 chocolate shops in Bruges, Dumon having three of those shops. The company started in 1922 and Mr. Descamps purchased Dumon in 2010. I visited him at their newest shop which opened in 2014. Mr. Descamps mentioned that their is competition between the local chocolate shops but they are all friendly partners. I asked him what Dumon is most known for. He stated that Dumon is known for their pralines. They offer over 80 varities of pralines and the selection is always changing. His company is always playing around with new fillings, herbs, spices, and techniques to create new pralines with different tastes, layers, and textures.
Mr. Descamps did admit that the Swiss produce a much better milk chocolate than Belgium. He stated that the Swiss have the countrysides with the cows that can roam and eat much better herbs and grasses than in Belgium. Belgium is most known for their pralines. At Dumon, a praline is 10 grams per piece. These pralines are smaller than other shops in Bruges as well as the pralines produced in Switzerland. However, Dumon offers a wide variety of tastes, flavors, and textures. The Belgium chocolatiers are always trying to come up with new praline combinations. In September, Bruges holds the Belgium chocolate summit. Here, chocolatiers from all over Belgium get together to discuss new initiatives in the chocolate business and share ideas for new combinations.
Similar to Du Rhone in Geneva, Dumon does not perform a bean to bar process. They are too small of a company to perform this task. Mr. Descamps stated that only a few shops in Bruges do bean to bar. Dumon begins their chocolate process with a small morsel of chocolate, just like Du Rhone. Du Rhone added more ingredients after melting down these morsels, however, Dumon will only add spices and herbs. Mr. Descamps said that he wants the chocolate to speak for itself. All these other ingredients are not necessary. Most of the cocoa beans that go into Dumon's chocolate come from Columbia. He stressed that Columbia is a very important local market for his company. They also get some of their cocoa beans from Tanzania and Vietnam. There are about 1,000 varieties of cocoa beans, so their can be a wide variety of taste in chocolate. Unlike Du Rhone, Dumon uses milk powder in their chocolates. Du Rhone was the only company that used both liquid and powdered milk. Most of the ingredients are locally sourced. Some of their nuts are imported, as well as the vanilla.
When comparing the three countries, it seems as though Switzerland has a better milk chocolate and Belgium focuses more on their pralines. Mr. Descamps said that Germany is not even in the league of being chocolate competition. He stated that most of their chocolate is produced industrially in mass quantities. They just produce chocolate bars, not fine chocolates. Mr. Descamps said that Belgium has the strength in combination with fillings such as ganache with fresh cream, playing with ingredient ratios, and exploring with new ingredients. He did mention that American chocolate is much sweeter than European chocolate. He thinks that we load our chocolate with sugar because sugar is cheap, therefore companies in America can mass produce chocolate very cheaply. We also talked about how chocolate is a treat and a decadence here rather than a casual food item to eat back in America.
I had a lovely time at Dumon and I thank Mr. Descamps for meeting with me and answering all of my questions. Here is a picture of Mr. Descamps and I as well as a look at the inside of their store.
After my meeting at Dumon, I went to the Choco Story museum. This was about a 10 minute walk from my Airbnb. Now Brussels also had a Choco Story but Bruges' was so much better. Everything was neatly displayed and there was so much information. The first few floors of the museum dealt with the cocoa beans. I learned that the Aztecs and the Mayans put much value on cocoa beans and even used them for currency. For example, in 1545, you could purchase 1 rabbit for 10 cocoa beans. The museum also went through the history of Belgium's chocolate. Interestingly, the praline was invented by Jean Neuhaus in Belgium in 1912. There were also some fun facts such as "Does chocolate cause cavities?" Their answer: "No, on the contrary, chocolate prevents cavities. "Does chocolate help to cause acne?" Their answer: No medical study shows a link with chocolate and acne." "Does chocolate make you fat?" Their answer: "If you are slim you can, for example eat dark chocolate and you will not gain weight. If you are overweight, slim down first, then you can reintroduce chocolate into your diet. If you continue with moderation, you will not get fat." I am not sure if I believe all their answers but I found them interesting. The last part of the museum was a demonstration of how to make a Belgian praline. The demonstration was interesting to watch and I even got to sample a praline. The praline had a hazelnut filling, which was good but I would not purchase something like that. Overall, I really enjoyed this museum.
Next, I wanted to find the windmills in Bruges that my mother had recommended me to visit. I walked for about 20 minutes and found myself in a beautiful park with two windmills.
Bruges is definitely my favorite city so far and I really do not want to leave. I wish I could explore for a few more days but onward to Germany. PS. I did not have time to get my Belgium waffle of the day. Oh well, I guess 4 waffles was enough.
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