Laurent Gerbaud

This Belgian Chocolate Maker Uses Unusual Ingredients to Create Sinfully Good Treats - AFAR

"A renegade Belgian chocolatier runs a hands-on chocolate tasting and making workshop in Brussels that reframes chocolate as a complex, savory-sour experience rather than an excessively sugary treat. Participants sample a curated progression of 14 handcrafted pieces—from a mass-produced wedge used as a baseline to high-quality Venezuelan and Madagascan cacaos, then to inventive creations like a circle-shaped Chinese-design piece, bars topped with salted pistachios, and confections flavored with zereshk (barberries). The classes emphasize Asian-inspired combinations learned in Shanghai—sea salt, sesame seeds, bitter herbs, and tart fruit—and feature tastings such as chocolate-wrapped orange peel, a chewy apricot, and a crème-filled ganache with coriander and mango, finishing with a sesame-sprinkled, rich rectangle that showcases texture and balance. The sessions teach palate training (noticing faint herb aromas and cocoa mouthfeel), promote a less sweet, more satisfying approach to chocolate, and regularly convert skeptics by making mass-market chocolate taste flat in comparison. Demos and workshops are held weekly on Saturdays from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m." - Lina Zeldovich