INTERNATIONAL: Valentine’s day is always a special day. And a good way to make a connection is to give chocolate or flowers for hearts day.
Many people are showing their craftsmanship in giving something special to their loved ones.Personally, we all know that chocolate is very pleasant - especially when we are with our lovers on Valentine's Day. That's not everything, but it's a little extra. We can celebrate Valentine's Day in many different ways with or without chocolates but we all know that chocolate (is something) we all love. It’s sweet, It can spice up relationships. We can eat it especially if it contains an aphrodisiac. You can add ginger to it. It goes with so many things so I think it goes well with love.
It is a very good way to make a connection to give chocolate for Valentine's day, because it is a piece of heart that you give to your wife or your girlfriend, so that's why it's a sort of tradition for everyone.
As we celebrate hearts day on Febaruary 14, , award-winning Belgian chocolatier Bernard Schobbens hopes to melt lovers' hearts with new caramel, raspberry and passion fruit-flavoured praline chocolates.
Alongside Easter, Saint Nicolas and Christmas, the celebration of love and romance is an opportunity for Belgian chocolatiers to show off their expertise and originality, following in the foosteps of famed artisan Jean Neuhaus, the inventor of the hard-shelled, cream-filled praline in 1912.
Schobbens has gained fame after being awarded the title of Wallonia's best chocolatier by French restaurant guide Gault et Millau, a high point in his four-year-long career.
"Thanks to the Gault et Millau effect, many more people come here. I don't know what to expect ,in terms of sales. Therefore, each week, I produce my assortment of pralines all over again. We produce on a daily basis." Schobbens has said.
A former salesman for one of Belgium's largest telecommunications company, Schobbens's life took a new twist when a family visit to a chocolatier fair hs inspired a new passion in him that led to his career change.
"We visited one booth, then two, then three, then at the end of the day, I told myself: wow, it could be really nice to do this job. I trained for two years. Then the passion came," he has added.
Located a few kilometres from Brussels in the town of the Chaumont-Gistoux, the minimalism of Schobbens's shop contrasts with those in the Belgian capital's landmark Sablon district, home to many of the kingdom's best known chocolatiers. There, brightly-coloured hearts with caramel ganache centres filled the display cases to the delight of chocolate-loving locals and visitors alike.
