Belgian chocolate is most often associated with Godiva, the international marketer whose home office is in Brussels. The prepackaged confections that Godiva sells through department stores in the United States are better than anything Hershey or Cadbury offers. Appreciation of true Belgian chocolates must start with Mary, the witheringly exclusive chocolate maker just off the Boulevard du Regent in Brussels, and long patronized by Belgian royalty. Elegantly arranged pyramids of individual chocolates are laid out in cooled display cases. Tasteful original paintings adorn the white walls, lit by track lights as in an art gallery.
Clerks are older women and men formally dressed in three-piece suits or fashion attire.
They sit behind desks and wait for you to come to them, as if there to consult on chocolates. No such thing as pre-boxed chocolates here. The king, one supposes, sends someone to do this for him. The first time you taste these chocolates, you understand why. Velvety fondant, so dark it seems to absorb light, is another standard ingredient, and is unlike anything in the excessively sweet truffles that chocolatiers sell in the United States.