Vanlieff’s chocolate factory

True foodies know, there’s chocolate and then there’s chocolate. At Vanlieff’s chocolate factory, you can choose high-quality cocoa beans and turn them into authentic artisanal pralines. Indeed, there’s no comparison: to produce a good praline, you need a good chocolate maker, like here.

A real visit to a chocolate factory

The chocolate factory is located in the middle of the fields in Chastrès. You might be a bit surprised when you get there. Is this square building really the chocolate factory? Yes and its outer appearance clearly contrasts with what you’ll find inside.

Once you step inside, you discover the feel of chocolate. The chocolate shop is full of sweet treats. Everything demands attention. The display case has many different kinds of praline. There are normally more than forty. During the festive season, even more. You’ll want to sample them all: the praline, the dark chocolate, the fresh cream.

Transparent jars with speculoos cookies, chocolate pieces, homemade biscuits and other goodies line the counter. Behind you, you’ll find chocolate shapes, boxes of pralines and jams. It’s hard not to be greedy.

All of these delicacies are produced in the workshop in the back. You can visit this workshop. While individual visitors are not yet available, group tours can be organised. All you need to do is get a group together and contact the chocolate factory to plan it.

Everything is provided for tours. Everything just needs to line up for the chocolate makers’ schedules and the production in the workshop.

An intimate chocolate museum

During your visit, you learn a lot about Martine Van Liefferinge, who founded the chocolate factory. You’ll learn about the history of chocolate, where it comes from and the cultures behind it. Martine and her partner, Daniel, who is also a chocolate maker, turned to Valrhona chocolate, a high-quality brand that respects workers and plantations.

You can also learn the difference between dark chocolate, white chocolate and milk chocolate.

You’ll hear about artisanal and local products. Milk or butter are chosen for their flavour profiles. It’s fun to visit the workshop with the producers. You can feel their passion, learn about their production choices and hear them reflect. It’s a simple but authentic conversation.

And, of course, you can taste the chocolate.

Chocolate workshops for schools or birthday parties

You can even get your hands dirty with a workshop. For now, these workshops are intended for children, in particular birthday parties and school trips. However, it is possible for adults to learn some chocolate-making techniques upon request.

Children learn to write with chocolate or to make chocolate discs.

For games, you can taste different chocolate-based products while wearing a blindfold.

Another tip: you can combine a trip to the chocolate factory with another point of interest in the region and make it a themed day. For example, you can discover several artisanal products from different local producers with the ‘L’artisan de l’Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse’ tourist route, or explore heritage with the ‘La découverte de Walcourt’ circuit.

Tasting Eau de Villée pralines

Talking with the staff on-site is a lot of fun. There are very nice. Then it’s time to taste.

One of their specialities is the Eau de Villée praline. This is one of the very first pralines that Martine and Daniel produced in 1989, and it is still very popular today.

Do you prefer pralines or hollow chocolate figurines?