NEWS

7 April 2007

From the 6th to the 10th of April, the Chocolate Festival ‘Choco-Laté’ dipped the city of Bruges in chocolate, with Belcolade being the chief sponsor of this sweet chocolate feast. Moreover, Belcolade designed an impressive chocolate monument no less than two metres tall. This masterwork was appropriately named ‘Belcolade Art Nouveau’, and it elegantly united stylistic elements of Art Nouveau with the Brussels Atomium and the Parisian Eiffel Tower.

Chocolatier Stéphane Leroux found inspiration for this chocolate piece in Art Nouveau. Art Nouveau as exemplified by the famous Belgian Victor Horta, with industrial-looking steel structures, 'whip-lash motifs' and flowers. But the nationality of the artists also played a vital role in the development of the chocolate creation. Thus, there are elements that clearly refer to the elegant and sumptuous Jugendstil of Alfons Mucha as well. Mucha was born a Czech, but spent most of his life in artistic 'fin de siècle' Paris.

Symbols of the World's Fairs

Both of Belcolade's chocolatiers, Stéphane Leroux and Stef Aerts, have a great love of their capital cities, Brussels and Paris respectively. They assimilated elements of the finest monuments of each city. Attentive onlookers discovered discrete references to the Eiffel Tower, the symbol of the city of lights. The glittering balls of the fascinating Atomium were an excellent finishing touch to this showpiece.

Belcolade at Choco-Laté

This awe-inspiring masterpiece, a beautiful synthesis of creativity and a passion for chocolate, was without doubt one of the main attractions at Choco-Laté. Belcolade, as the last remaining Belgian producer of Real Belgian chocolate, strives to uphold the finest quality in Belgian chocolate, and this was revealed in its presence at the Chocolate festival.

'Belcolade Art Nouveau' was not Belcolade's only masterpiece. The visitors to Choco-Laté could also look out for other works in chocolate made by Stéphane Leroux and Stef Aerts. These were inspired by various themes, including - appropriately - Easter, and were created using different techniques. Stéphane Leroux has been twice named 'chocolate creation' world champion and was selected as 'Best Craftsman in France' (MOF, Meilleur Ouvrier de France) in 2004.

Belcolade received major press coverage on the event in the Belgian press with articles in the national newspapers as well as interviews on the national television stations RTL, VTM and VRT. Some of these news items have also been reported to have been aired in other parts of the world.