Internationally acclaimed confectioner Jeff de Bruges has opened the first Australian store in Westfield Bondi Junction.
There are over 480 shops worldwide and Bondi Junction is our first taste of Jeff de Bruges here on Australian soil.
Jeff de Bruges chocolates are classics with a modern twist, they are hand crafted by master chocolatiers in Belgium and many are still inspired by the original French recipes.
Jeff de Bruges is a respected brand throughout Europe and the owner of Jeff de Bruges Sydney, Roland Tabet, wanted to introduce that sophisticated high-quality chocolate flavour to Australian chocolate lovers.
Jeff de Bruges Sydney offers flavours for all occasions with a range of white, milk and dark chocolate. For those who like a little variety there are some great assorted Ballotin boxes with an extensive range to suit every palate.
The range can be prearranged in beautiful baskets, bowls and platters or it can be custom packed.
I have a box of these delightful delicacies on my desk as we speak. Now those of you who know me wouldn’t be surprised that I expected gourmet chocolates to be gone in …well perhaps not 60 seconds, or even 60 minutes but certainly 6 hours – and they’re not.
Rich dark chocolate, creamy milk chocolate or smooth white chocolate, they are all deliciously decadent and that means they demand to be savoured. The flavours are unique and lasting, the textures are interesting and varied and they are all satisfying. Quite often I find I can’t stop at just one chocolate, or two or three if I’m going to be brutally honest, but Jeff de Bruges chocolates are not a chocolate that can be binged upon. Actually, I’m sure given the right circumstances bingeing would be totally possible but it certainly wouldn’t be an everyday thing.
The 375g Assorted Ballotin box I received for review contains a huge range of chocolates with some rather interesting flavour combinations.
It’s no real surprise that I haven’t found a chocolate in this box that I don’t like, even those that sounded a little exotic for my usual tastes.
One of the first I selected was wrapped in a blue/green foil so I immediately thought mint, and I was only half correct. It was filled with dark chocolate ganache with mint tea, and I was pleasantly surprised. You could certainly taste the tea along with the mint but it was delicious.
There are approximately 32 chocolates in the 375g Ballotin box and they are all different flavours so I could be here all night if I went into all of the combinations.
A couple of the notable mentions are milk chocolate ganache with Earl Grey Tea and hazelnut praline with blackcurrant berries in a white chocolate coating.
One of the divine melt in your mouth chocolates I tested earlier tasted just like the creamy inside of a Ferrero Rocher, I could certainly have done with a few more of those.
I would love to hold off on this review until I have polished off the whole box to tell you my absolute favourites but I’m not sure I will be able to pick any. I am tempted to unpack the whole box and check exactly what I have, because some of these look divinely delectable, as opposed to just delectable.
Some of the options I’m looking forward to are Cappucino, Tiramisu, Flamingo which is a dark chocolate ganache flavoured with grapefruit, Snoby’ chic Blackcurrant which is a duo of praline and light milk cream flavoured with blackcurrant.
Jeff de Bruges chocolates are made using pure cocoa butter and prepared with the utmost care without hydrogenated vegetable fats, palm oil or GMO. Jeff de Bruges also participate in the Quality Partner Program (QPP), which is an ambitious program whose purpose is to share expertise with cocoa farmers, Improve overall quality and Prepare a future where everyone has access to clean water, medical care and education for children. It is through this endeavour that Jeff de Bruges supports the creation and operation of an elementary school in Bodjorou in Côte d’Ivoire.
“Not only do we believe in the quality of our chocolate, we also believe in responsible cocoa farming,” said Tabet. “The Jeff de Bruges Quality Partner Program fosters programs that increases sustainable growing practices as well as the quality of life for the growers.”
For more information visit www.jeff-de-bruges.com/fr or visit them on Facebook.
To try it out for yourself simply stop by Level 2 Westfield Bondi Junction
10 of our Beauty and Lace Club members were lucky enough to sample a 375g Ballotin box of Assorted Jeff de Bruges Sydney chocolates and you can read what they thought in the comments below.
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