THE BELGIAN PIERRE MARCOLINI
opened his first store in Brussels in 1995, the same year he was named the World Champion of Pastry. A decade later we can find PIERRE MARCOLINI outlets in Paris, London, New York and Kuwait as well as several in Tokyo and numerous ones in Belgium. The secret of this meteoric rise lies in the fantastic creativity displayed by this master chocolatier. In his chocolates we find not only more unusual fruit, such as apple, pear, blackcurrent and melon but also ingredients such as pepper, chestnut, tonka beans and even patchouli, sandalwood and oak. Apart from a wide variety of chocolates, sweets and cakes, which often come in the form of seasonal collections, PIERRE MARCOLINI also sells a few bars and a tasting box, which will be the subject of our scrutiny. The tasting box features 32 single-origin "caraques" (small squares of chocolate), all 75%, from seven regions, which form the first seven of the entries below.
Website (main):
www.marcolini.be
Website (US):
www.marcolinichocolatier.com
Website (Japan):
www.pierremarcolini.jp
Stores: PIERRE MARCOLINI has four stores in Brussels, a further four in the rest of Belgium, three in Tokyo and one in Paris, London, New York and Kuwait:
Brussels:
Rue des Minimes 1, 1000 Brussels (Sablon), Tel: +3225141206
Avenue Louise 75M, 1050 Brussels, Tel: +3225384224
Avenue de Hinnisdael 14, 1150 Brussels, Tel: +3227712720
Chaussee de Waterloo 1302, 1180 Brussels, Tel: +322 3721511
Antwerp: Huidevettersstraat 38--40, 2000 Antwerpen, Tel: +3232265001
Liege: Rue de la RĀgence 31, 4000 Liege, Tel: +3243499000
Namur: Rue Saint--Loup 4, 5000 Namur, Tel: +3281224422
Knokke: Elizabethlaan 5, 8300 Knokke Zoute, Tel: +3250602210
Paris: Rue de Seine 89, 75006 Paris, Tel: +33144073907
London: Verde & Co, 40 Brushfield Street, Spitalfields, London E1 6AG
New York: 485 Park Avenue, NY 10022, Tel: +12127555150
Tokyo:
5-5-8 Ginza, Chuo Ku, 104-0061 Tokyo, Tel: +81355370955
3-4-2 Haneda Airport Ota-Ku, 144-0041 Tokyo, Tel: +81357576220
Midland Square B1F, 4-7-1 Meleki, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi 450-0002 Nagoya, Tel: 00 81 52 582 0456
Kuwait:
Dar Al awadi Mall - Tower Lobby Shop 23, Ahmed Al Jaber street, Tel: +965 938 5800
Availability: PIERRE MARCOLINI chocolate can be bought online at the US, UK and Japanese websites, and is also found in a few gourmet food stores. Independent websites generally do not stock PIERRE MARCOLINI.
THE CARAQUES
click on countries of origin for more information
MADAGASCAR 75% Madagascar, Africa
Immensely strong fruit flavours of this caraque spread throughout the mouth and deliver a grandiose rich experience with a superb finish and fine aftertaste. Arguably the best of the seven varieties in this tasting box.
CHUAO 75% Venezuela, South America
The Chuao region in Venezuela is famous for its Criollo, and this chocolate sample excels with full and complex flavours, permeating the mouth with bitter yet sweet richness, and ending it all with a tremendous finish and an excellent aftertaste.
EQUATEUR 75% Ecuador, South America
A distinctive edge dominates the taste of this fairly bitter sample and delivers an intriguing tasting experience, which might however be not everyone's taste.
JAVA 75% Java, Indonesia
This sample exhibits distinctive sweet and rich flavours, with notes of fruit and a good finish, but a less developed aftertaste.
VENEZUELA 75% Venezuela, South America
Strong coffee flavours are present in this caraque, which make for a very pleasant taste but, while working well with this chocolate, also shroud the more subtle nuances of its flavour.
GHANA 75% Ghana, West Africa
This Ghanaian sample is a very solid performance with a sweet flavours of fruit and a decent finish. While it is by all means satisfying, there is not much to learn and explore in terms of new and different chocolate flavours.
TRINITE 75% Trinidad, South America
This is a classic full-bodied and rich flavour with notes of fruit, and exhibits a fine finish and excellent aftertaste.
In addition to the tasting box with the above caraques, PIERRE MARCOLINI also sells the Java, Venezuela, Equateur and Madagascar chocolate as bars with 72%. Furthermore he offers two bars named Grand Cru Cabosse and Fleur de Cacao (to be reviewed) as well as other bars which we do not review, with added ingredients such as hazelnuts, pecan nuts, cocoa nibs and orange an lemon peel.