Mary

Mary was another chocolatier we visited in Brussels for shopping. We picked four kinds of pralines - Louise-Marie (dark chocolate mousse and orange jelly), Gabriel (vanilla cream garnished with a walnut kernel, Ange (yoghurt-flavored white chocolate mousse), and Windsor (earl grey-flavored ganache). Those pralines were lovely. At the store, I didn't see any bonbons with exotic flavors like yuzu or chili pepper. With relatively traditional flavors, each piece was pleasant and feminine. Maybe it's because Mary's founder was a woman.

Mary Delluc, a chocolate lover opened her shop in Brussels in 1919 to share her passion and beautiful and delicious chocolates made from her own secret recipe. It is said that she was the first female to pioneer Belgian chocolate. She took very care of the quality as well as presentation of her chocolate, including artistically designed boxes and fancy displays at the shop windows. The little box for our pralines with a thin golden ribbon was charming.

Also, she had a guestbook that she wrote down every customer's favorite chocolates, according to the company's website. It didn't seem to take long for her to open more shops. There are currently eight chocolatiers who are Belgian Royal Warrant Holders. Mary is one of them and has kept the title since 1942, the most recently renewing in 2013 by His Majesty King Philippe I. Mary must have also been a successful entrepreneur as well as an excellent chocolatier.