What you can buy
TOBACCO - 3,200 cigarettes, 200 cigars, 400 cigarillos, 3 Kg smoking tobacco.
ALCOHOL - 110 lts beer, 90 lts wine, 10 lts spirits, 20 lts fortified wine.
Pre -order by internet from the Wine Beer Warehouse and if you spend £400 or more get a free daytrip with Seafrance or £30 cash back if you travel with Eurotunnel.
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Information about shopping for chocolate and Chocolate shops in Calais, France and Belgium - day-tripper.net, the web magazine which saves you money when crossing the channel to Calais, to buy wine, beer, spirits and food, travelling by ferry or Eurotunnel.
Chocolate is much cheaper in France and even cheaper still in Belgium. The range and quality are wonderful and the freshness makes a difference!
Good quality Chocolate is cheaper and better in France and Belgium. If you are buying tobacco, booze and food, why not stock up with chocolates as well?
In Belgium a 250g box of chocolates costs just £3.10 - nearly 2/3's cheaper than in England. In France 250g's will cost about £3.30. The better quality Chocolatiers in France charge more but the quality is superb and range fascinating.
Actual prices in euro on March 12th at Leonidas in Adinkerke; 250g - 4.35 (£3.10), 500g - 8.70 (£6.20), 750g - 13.05 (£9.30), 1000g - 17.40 (£12.40).
Wow! a 1 kilogram box of Leonidas dark Belgium chocolates costs £32.00 in London and just £12.40 in Belgium (17.40 euro) - Check U.K. prices!
Diabetic chocolates are about 20% more - I paid 9.50 euro for 1/2 kilogram (but my Mother-in-law appreciated them!)
More about chocolate and what to buy
CREDIT CARDS - we suggest you ring your credit card company before shopping in France - increased fraud means they are turning down shoppers cards if their spending deviates from the norm. Take your mobile - you can often sort the problem out over the phone.
OFFER 1 - 20% off daytrips to Boulogne with Speedferries. 50 minute crossing. From £20 return (Offer available on this site only)
OFFER 2 - Cheapest ferry fares to Calais with P O Ferry. Cheap daytrips starting at £20 only (No fuel surcharge, subject to availability)
Direct Booking links
| Transmanche Ferries Dieppe | LD Lines Ferry Le Havre | Transeuropa Ferries |
| Norfolkline Dover to Dunkirk | SpeedFerries Boulogne | DFDS Ferries Newcastle |
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| Eurotunnel to Calais |  |
The Chocolate Club, Unit 9, Saint Pancreas Commercial Centre. 63, Pratt Street. London. The Chocolate Gourmet, 16 Castle Street, Ludlow. Shropshire. Tel: 01584 879 332. www.chocolategourmet.co.uk
Université du Chocolat à Paris. www.iesa.fr
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As a general guide, for fine dark chocolate, you will find 60 - 70% cocoa solids used and is a blend of cocoa mass, added sugar and cocoa butter. Milk chocolate will have 30 - 40% cocoa solids and is a mixture of cocoa paste, sugar and milk. White chocolate has no cocoa powder solids in it (only cocoa butter) and is made from cocoa butter, sugar and milk. Cocoa butter is the fat extracted from the cocoa paste. What's left is the cocoa powder.
When asking for chocolates in a Belgian shop, these descriptions may help you choose; Fresh cream - covered in dark, milk or bitter chocolate. Fresh butter cream - covered in dark, milk or bitter chocolate. Ganache - A fine, silky, rich chocolate mixture made by combining chocolate and boiling cream or liqueur. Most often used as a filling for truffles and other chocolates. Flavoured with coffee, tea or spices in varying strengths. Gianduja - A delicious mixture of melted chocolate, sugar and finely ground grilled hazelnuts. Used in making chocolates. Liqueurs - Liqueur chocolates are easily identifiable because they are usually wrapped in coloured aluminium foil. Liqueur chocolates are made in a different way compared to other chocolates in that they have a fine layer of crystallized sugar with added starch between the chocolate and the alcohol. Marzipan - Pralines is the Belgian name for chocolates, both in French and in Flemish. A praline is a Belgian chocolate made of delicious Belgian chocolate encapsulating a mouth-watering filling. Praliné - Note the é at the end of Praliné, which distinguishes it from praline above. The most noble of fillings. A mixture of equal proportions of nuts (almonds, blanched hazelnuts, etc.) and sugar to which chocolate is then added. Covered in dark, milk or bitter chocolate. Truffles - A confection made of chocolate, sugar, butter and sometimes a few drops of liqueur, shaped into balls and often coated with cocoa. This dark brown filling is slightly more compact than the fillings made from cream. |
To preserve the aromas, store at a temperature between 16° and 22°C. This way they will last up to 5 weeks. It is best to eat chocolate soon after purchase though to get the best out of them. Eat chocolate slowly and chew well. This allows the aroma to develop in your mouth. The flavour of liqueurs are released by the heat of the mouth, so make it last if you want to enjoy them fully. |
The law on what a chocolate is. On 3 August 2003, European Directive 2000/36/CE of 22 June 2000 came into effect. This Directive caused considerable and justified controversy as it authorized the use of vegetable fats (instead of cocoa butter) in the manufacture of chocolates, albeit under certain very stringent conditions. For the Belgian market, all chocolates containing vegetable fats besides cocoa must be clearly labelled as such. However, the Directive does not impose the use of vegetable fats, which is something that the general public has not clearly understood. It is therefore up to individual manufacturers to decide what their products contain … and up to the consumer to choose the quality they wish to retain in their favourite brands. Many Belgian chocolate makers have taken the view that it isn't chocolate if it contains vegetable fats. LEONIDAS for example, does not use vegetable fats, other than pure cocoa butter, in either its chocolates or its fillings. |
Aux 6 Bourgeois de Calais, 53, Rue Royale Tel: 0033 321 34 34 85. Aux Royal Chocolate - 67, Rue Royale Tel: 0033 321 34 40 43. www.daskalides.com Confiserie Cathy, 202 Bd. Gambetta. Tel: 0033 321 96 01 96. Confiserie Au Régal, 79, Bd. Egalité. Tel: 0033 321 97 28 76. La Bonbonnière,42 bis rue Neuve. Tel: 0033 321 96 87 24. Le Lapin Blanc, 84, Bd. Jaquard. Tel: 0033 321 34 39 82. Fax: 0033 321 97 77 20. Pâtisserie du Theatre, 11 Bd. Pasteur. Tel: 0033 321 36 37 00. Jan Popelier, 190, rue Marcel Dassault. Tel: 0033 321 96 05 26. Rogier, 61, Bd. La Fayette. Tel: 0033 321 97 41 00. Verschelle, 61 bis Bd. Jacquard. Tel: 0033 321 34 96 19.
Au Royal Chocolat, 67 Rue Royale. 62100. Calais. Tel: 0033 321 34 40 43. |
All French supermarkets and hypermarkets have a huge range of choclate to choose from. Dark chocolate lovers will appreciate the range available and the price compared with the U.K. We liked the Max Havelaar range (Fairtrade), especially the "Force Brute, Noir Intense" Bolivian chocolate. Its worth seeking out. Also available are Noir Orange and Noir Absolute (85%).
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Au Marine Gourmond, 70 rue Nationale. Tel: 0033 321 30 34 42. Les Chocolat de Beussent, 49, rue des Pipots, Boulogne. Tel: 0033 321 92 44 00. www.choco-france.com Confiserie de Tradition, 48 rue Lille. Tel: 0033 321 92 52 03. GLUP's, 61 rue Faidherbe. Tel: 0033 321 31 66 00. Jeff de Bruges, 26 rue Faidherbe, 0033 321 83 89 05. Léonidis, 12 Grande Rue. Tel: 0033 321 31 41 63. Récréation, 132 rue Chemin Vert. Tel: 0033 321 80 79 23. |
Les Chocolat de Beussent - 66, Route de Desvres, Beussent. 62170. Tel: 0033 321 86 17 62. www.choco-france.com Chocolate Passion, 67, rue Nationale, Lille. Tel: 0033 320 54 74 42. www.chocolatpassion.com. RECOMMENDED. Jean Trogneux - Four stores in the North of France (Amiens, Arras, Saint Quentin, Lille). www.trogneux.fr Normandy
Auzou - Normandy manufacturer of chocolate. Le Havre, 19, rue A. André Huet. Parvis espace Coty. 76600 Le Havre. Tel: 0033 235 41 30 70. www.auzou-chocolat.fr Musée du Chocolat, ZA Bayeux Intercom. 14400 Nonant. Normandy. Tel: 0033 231 10 00 05. Fax: 0033 231 10 00 30. www.musee-chocolat.com |
Belgium Chocolate Shops - these shops have a good range of chocolates P & A - Chocolate Maker & Tobacco Shop (also at Auchan Centre, Calais).. Dijk 3, B8660 Adinkerke. Tel: 0032 58 42 00 27. Largely caters to the British shopper. Confiserie Dalipan (Leonidas) - Chocolates only. This shop is in the main town itself - instead of turning left at the roundabout after leaving the A16 autoroute, go straight over and on for a mile or so (it's on the right). We found the quality here excellent, particularly the dark ones, and only slightly more expensive. At Xmas this shop is absolutely packed with locals. The shop in the Stop & Shop complex as you enter Adinkerke, is owned by the same people. De Pannelaan 77, 8660 Adinkerke. Tel: 0032 58 41 49 58.
Poperinge Choco Lux Watou, 21 Callicannesesweg. Watou - Poperinge. Tel: 0032 57 48 68 93. Fax: 0032 57 48 68 94. Worth a detour for individually made chocolates which we thoroughly enjoyed. Choco Story, Chocolate Museum. Wijnzakstraat 2, Brugge. The Choco-Story Chocolate Museum will serve up interesting answers to all your chocolate questions and will immerse you in the fascinating 2,500 year history of this most delicious of foodstuffs. www.choco-story.be
The Bruges Chocolate Festival (1st to 4th May 2009). www.choco-late.be (Events in Belgium) Maastricht Chocolate Festival (23rd to 25th October 2009). |
Brugges - Famous for its chocolate shops, there is a great choice available here. Look out for the famous Brugse Zwaantjes (little swans). Confiseur Jacques, rue Adolf Buylstraat 4, Oostende. The Chocolate Factory (sells a big range of chocolates and also tobacco and drink) - on the main road from the A16 to Ostende - leave the A16 at Junction 5, the shop is on the right just before the bridge over the canal. There is a large car park for coaches and cars. |
Bonnat. (French) www.bonnat-chocolatier.com
Pralus (French). www.chocolats-pralus.com
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Happily you can order Belgium chocolates when in the U.K., but be prepared to pay. Leonidas U.K. (www.leonidasbelgianchocolates.co.uk) do them. Expect to pay £37 for a kilogram (includes postage) of dark chocolates. |
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A new range of ice creams from Leonidas
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- The British Chocolate Society, Clay Pit Lane. Roecliff. North Yorkshire. Tel: 01423 322 230. 
- Thorntons Chocolates. Can be ordered for delivery in the U.K. 
- Hotel Chocolat. 
- Prestat, handmade Organic Chocolates Delivery London & UK by leading online chocolatier, 
- Find a chocolatier in France. 
- De Neuville. Tel: 0033 321 36 46 00. Exquisite range of appetising chocolates - ideal if you are looking for a special gift. 
- Max Havelaar. Fairtrade foods. 
- Chocolaterie Cluizel. Avenue de conches. 27240 Damville. Normandy. France. Tel: 0044 232 35 60 00. There is a museum, cinema, and sampling opportunities. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10.00am to 6.00pm. 
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- April every year, Choco-Late:
- Belcolade. 
- Callebaut. 
- Cluizel, Michel, route de Conches Le Roncenay. 27240. Damville. Tel: 0033 232 35 60 00. (France). 
- Dalloyau. 
- Daskalies. 
- Dolfin. 
- Godiva (now an American company). 
- Jacques Chocolate Factory, Rue de l'industrie 16. B-4700 EUPEN. 
- J. P. Hevin (French). 
- Cote d'Or. 
- La Maison du Chocolate (French). 
- Monbana. A French family run company. 
- Neuhaus De Panne, Zeelaan 184. 8660 De Panne. Tel: 0032 58 41 10 94. 
- (French) Valrhona, 14, Av. du Président Roosevelt. 26601. Tain l'Hermitage (near Lyons). Tel: 0033 475 07 90 09. 
- Choc-o-lait. A new product we found in some shops in Belgium, just add it to a a mug of hot milk. Stir it around until it melts, and if you are weak, have the odd lick. 
