Jannes Deduytschaever and his partner Karen have been working hard for many years in the heart of Ghent to achieve a top position in the world of Belgian chocolatiers. With awards such as “Best Chocolatier Flanders” from Gault Millau and “Best Chocolatier in Belgium” from le guide Fooding, he is known as a star chocolatier who takes chocolate to a new, surprising level of taste. For Deduytschaever, this is all about raw materials and a great deal of craftsmanship and creativity. “Quality is paramount,” he says.
PASSION FOR CHOCOLATE
From an early age, Jannes had an eye for everything that was beautiful and good—whether it was food or non-food, it didn't matter to him. Until he chose to train as a pastry chef. From that moment on, it was clear: his heart was in food. And then young Jannes came into contact with a very special product: chocolate! ‘I learned what I could do with chocolate at hotel school, and it was clear from the outset that chocolate had enormous potential. I was amazed at what I could do with 8 grams of chocolate: create a taste explosion of epic proportions. Whereas 100 grams of pastry or cake pales in comparison to the taste possibilities of chocolate,’ Jannes explains enthusiastically. ‘After working for five years at Chocolatier M in Knokke-Heist, my passion for food focused entirely on chocolate. The product intrigued me and never let me go.’
"The 28 pralines in the shop are all newly created recipes. Perfectly executed. Truly top-quality products."
RAW MATERIALS²
‘Ghent has been a centre for artisan chocolate for many years. While other cities tend to opt for industrial chocolate, the chocolatiers in Ghent set the bar high,’ Jannes confides. "An important part of this artisan tradition is choosing the best raw materials. We set our prices based on this. The customer then gets the best ingredients. At The Chocolate Maker, we make the chocolate ourselves. This is not yet common practice in Belgium, but we are not the only ones. At Deduytschaever, we use 50% homemade chocolate (from The Chocolate Maker) and 50% chocolate that we purchase. The purchased chocolate comes from the best plantations in Madagascar and Vietnam, and we also like to include the French brand Valrhona, an exceptional chocolate, in our products. We also use hazelnuts from Piedmont and fruit from local fruit farmers, among other things. The companies we work with have an ethical compass: all our ingredients are sustainably grown. That is a matter of course for us, but the quality ensures taste in the superlative degree. We also use the special Beurre D'Isigny from Normandy. A top product with a guarantee of taste.
A STRONG CHOCOLATE TEAM
Jannes and his partner Karen built a team of chocolatiers to support him in daily production and the search for the perfect combinations for delicious, artisanal chocolate products. "Together, we find the balance between creativity and thoughtful management. Karen runs the business and the daily production is done by myself and three chocolatiers; in the shop, there are also employees who have been trained in our philosophy: always welcome customers, give them space and explain things when asked. I always say hello to our regular customers myself; there's always time for a chat and some extra attention,‘ laughs Jannes. ’We also supply our products to the Michelin-starred restaurant Bernard and Benoit Dewitte, where our products have their place, as well as to the restaurants Bruun and Karel de Stoute."
EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
Jannes' goal is clear: to develop wonderful recipes and surprise customers with new flavour combinations or an unexpected twist on a classic. When customers ask for seafood in their shop, they are given – with a wink – Deduytschaever's tinned (chocolate) sardines. "The product consists of homemade praline with roasted Piedmont hazelnuts and a hint of Guérande salt. A very refined combination and taste, especially when compared to the excessive sugar in the praline in industrial chocolate seafood. Ultimately, we want our customers to enjoy a high-quality artisanal product. The 28 pralines in the shop are all newly created recipes. Perfectly executed. Genuine top-quality products in beautiful packaging with an original design and the necessary words that fit perfectly, with genuine humour; I like to think about that. Call it authentic branding, in words and images. And I want to continue doing all those things, searching for new flavours and combinations of ingredients, reinventing classics with new recipes and brainstorming new ideas for branding. I enjoy doing that," says Jannes. We ask the star chocolatier about his favourite combinations: the Yuzu, based on Japanese citrus fruit, and pralines with a combination of fig, bergamot and tonka (vanilla). We hurry to the shop!
Want to know more about Deduytschaever chocolate?
Visit www.thechocolatemaker.be and www.deduytschaever.be
