Jean Neuhaus had come to Brussels from his native Switzerland, and set up his apothecary business on the Galerie de la Reine. However, it wasn’t long before liquorice, marshmallows, and dark chocolate began to appear on the shelves, next to the cocaine tooth powder and catarrh snuff, and by the time the business was taken over by Jean’s son Frederic, it was known as much for its chocolate as it was for its medicines. The real change, however, came about when Frederic’s brother, Jean Junior, took the reins of the store following Frederic’s death in 1911. Jean Junior was the creator of what we now know is the classic Belgian chocolate – the reason that so many chocolate fans flock to Brussels hotels, with its liquid or soft centre encased in a crisp shell of couverture, which were originally known as pralines. He began selling them in 1912, and changed the face of chocolate-making – and chocolate-eating – forever. Another innovation followed in 1915, when Jean’s wife Louise began developing decorative gift-boxes, to prevent the delicate chocolates from being squashed on the customer’s journey home.
If Brussels has got the market cornered on chocolate, then Paris is obviously the city of love, and many visitors choose Paris hotels for a romantic break – but don’t forget about the crepes. Roadside crepes stalls pop up on almost every street corner, serving hungry lines of students, office workers, and tourists. The best crepes stalls will feature open kitchens, so that you can watch these master craftsmen at work, spreading the batter paper-thin with their wooden dowels so as to achieve that perfect lacy-edged effect, then filling, folding, and wrapping your crepe for you in front of you. With so many affordable hotel deals to choose from, there’s no reason not to book a break in the city of love – and pancakes.
Tags: Brussels hotels, hotel deals, Paris hotels
