Chocolate Dreams

Belgian Chocolate is known throughout the world. They just go together. While walking the old town area of Bruges, I came across many shops selling chocolate, and in many cases, they produced the chocolate locally.

Chocolate has been a major industry in Belgium since the 19th century, and today it forms an important part of the nation's economy and culture. However, the raw materials used in chocolate production do not originate in Belgium; most cocoa is produced in Africa, central America, and south America. Nevertheless, the country has had an association with the product that dates to the early 17th century. While the industry has been regulated by law since 1894, there is no universal standard for the chocolate to be labelled "Belgian". The most commonly accepted standard dictates that the actual production must take place inside Belgium.