30 July 2017
What do the Dutch and chocolates have in common?
For the die-hard chocolate historians and aficionados, the answer is simple – van Houten. The father and son team of Casparus and Coenraad van Houten are credited with revolutionising the process of cocoa production in the 19th century. Casparus developed the method for extracting cocoa butter from cocoa beans while Coenraad invented the Dutch or alkalising process for cocoa production. The rest, as they say, is history…..
Over the centuries, chocolate makers and chocolatiers the world over have taken these innovations to new heights, arguably leaving the Dutch in their wake. What’s become of Dutch chocolates? Do they still hold a place in the broader chocolate world? And where can you find them?
Here’s what I discovered during my recent weekend visit to the capital city of Amsterdam.
Metropolitan is a contemporary cafe of all things chocolate. Here, you can indulge in chocolates, ice creams, pastries, cakes, Dutch pancakes, waffles, chocolate meringues and anything else that you can think of, typically coated in chocolate.
Their bon bons are a must try. Made bean to bar from Dominican Republic cacao, the ganaches and pralines are uniquely baton-shaped and feature spices and herbs as well as evergreen and contemporary flavours such as hazelnut and ginger, vanilla salted caramel, blood orange and chipotle.
Metropolitan is the chocolate venture of celebrity Dutch chocolatier Kees Raat, one time apprentice at Chocolaterie Pompadour, previous owner of Unlimited Delicious and creator of the Dutch chocolate festival Chocoa.
The cafe is conveniently located a stone’s throw from the touristy Dam Square, in Warmoesstraat.
Puccini Bomboni is renowned for their handmade bon bons. So renowned that, in fact, some rate their bon bons to be amongst the top ten in the world!
If you’re after dainty and bite sized, I’m afraid that you’ve come to the wrong place. The bon bons here are huge – think two to three times the size of your typically bon bon. Be captivated by the display of choices available, presented on expansive platters. There are more than two dozen including plum, port, thyme, honey, fig, gianduja, ginger, rhubarb and walnut. The glass shelves are also beautifully adorned with chocolates in every shape and form.
Puccini Bomboni is the labour of love of mother and daughter team Ans van Soelen and Sabine van Weldam. It started out as a dessert shop in Staalstraat in 1988, evolving with time into a specialist chocolate shop.
There are two shops in Amsterdam, the original located in Staalstraat and the second in Singel. Both are within walking distance of each other and key tourist attractions.
Hip and funky best describes this bean to bar chocolate shop. The specialty here are the single and blended origin bars wrapped in bright coloured packaging, handmade bon bons comprising ganaches, pralines and truffles, and ice cream. The latter was unfortunately sold out due to the “heatwave” on the day that I visited.
Urban Cacao is a relative newcomer to the Amsterdam chocolate scene, established in 2013 by the duo of Hans Mekking and Jochem Keune. Hans is a well regarded chocolatier, patissier and glacier while Jochem is a sales and marketing extraordinaire.
Drop by the open workshop in Rozengracht to witness chocolates being made as you enjoy a coffee, ice cream or hot chocolate in winter, or the smaller shop in Huidenstraat.
Chocolaterie Pompadour Tea Rooms
Peek through the window display of tantalising cakes, pastries and chocolates, and you’ll most likely be enticed to set foot into Pompadour. I don’t blame you – the artisanal sweet treats here are meticulously crafted on-site and the chocolates are proudly made from Valrhona couverture chocolate.
Owned and run by Bram Ouwehand and his partner Escu Gabriels, this Victorian-themed establishment is still going strong after more than 50 years. The tearoom itself houses a slice of history – the panelling dates back to 1795 and originates from a town hall in Mortsel, Belgium.
This cosy chocolate shop and tea room is located in Huidenstraat.
Chocolatl is a chocolate connoisseur’s dream. It’s so easy to loose track of time immersing one’s self in their impressive global selection of single origin, bean to bar, artisanal chocolates, as well as tasting and exchanging flavour notes along the way. It’s here that I finally found chocolates from Beau Cacao, Mirzam, Pump Street Bakery and Friisholm, just to name a few. This is definitely up there on my list of favourite specialty chocolate shops in the world!
Owner Adil is truly knowledgeable and passionate about his chocolates, and very generous with his time. I could have spent hours just discussing chocolate. To top it off, he features a great selection of chocolate books and bibles that customers are welcomed to browse through, as they sit down to a cup of coffee or single origin hot chocolate.
If you’d like to learn more about bean to bar, artisanal chocolates, sign up to one of their Chocolate Labs or tasting sessions, or just pop in and chat to Adil.
Chocolatl is located in Hazenstraat, in the hipster suburb of Jordaan.
It’s all about chocolate choices at Vanroselen. They pride themselves in their hand-crafted selection of bon bons featuring traditional and contemporary flavoured ganaches and pralines, liquor filled chocolates and chocolate coated candied fruit. In addition, chocolate lovers may also choose from their commendable selection of international, single origin, bean to bar, artisanal chocolates including Amedei, Francois Pralus, Taza, Bonnat, Blanxart and Raaka.
I was served by Yasmijn, a passionate foodie and food photographer who shared with me the story and vision of Vanroselen.
Vanroselen is located a short walk from the museum quarter of Amsterdam, in Nieuwe Spiegelstraat.
The Verdict
The chocolate culture is very much alive and thriving in Netherlands, as evidenced by the many exciting chocolates discoveries that I’ve made in Amsterdam alone. In fact, for a relatively small country of just over 17 million inhabitants, it punches well above its weight in chocolate. I’ve since ascertained that Netherlands is the third largest exporter of chocolates in the world, only behind Belgium and Germany, and well ahead of France and Italy!