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Debondt Cioccolato Originale |
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Paul De Bondt and Cecilia Iacobelli create classic Italian chocolates with a modern twist including a selection of special blended tavolette and aromatic chocolate bars (we love their Habanero bar) and extravagant Stecche - fruit and/or nut bars. This duo is also known across Italy for their chocolate Easter Eggs that are works of art. |
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What
motivated you to open a chocolate business? |
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Itt was a natural move. I began as a chef, then a pastry chef and in 1993, decided to go into chocolate. Being Dutch, it was part of my childhood. I wanted to take it to another level in Tuscany. More contemporary and innovative. |
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Debondt's Stecche takes classic chocolate bark one step further by loading the top of each bar of melted chocolate with an abundance of whole nuts or dried fruit. |
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Did
you have any formal training in chocolate making? |
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Not really- just from being a pastry chef and then experimenting. |
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Where
do you get your inspiration for the different flavors and textures
you include in your chocolates? |
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Brainstorming with my wife Cecilia, she is also a designer. When we create a new chocolate we take into consideration shape, flavors and presentation. |
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If you
had to describe your product line in a couple of sentences, what would
that be? |
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Simple, essential, clean unique and personal. |
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What
is your personal favorite out of all the products you make and why? |
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One of our favorite products is not for sale to the public, we created two chocolates for the Donna fugata winery, using a special and rare dessert wine Ben Rye'. It was a challenge to create two fillings to complement the complex flavors and represent the ingredients of Sicily. The first is Almonds, Figs soaked in the Ben Rye' and then ground in a bittersweet chocolate shell. The second is a gelatin of Ben Rye' with a white chocolate ganache in a bittersweet chocolate shell. One of our signature bars is a dark chocolate and milk chocolate bar with sea salt between the layers, representing the two of us, united in one. |
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