Just Think of Someone...

Now that I've talked about harvesting cocoa, let’s fast forward to the part where the cocoa has magically transformed into delicate and refined chocolate treats!


Enter, Leonidas Chocolate Cafe, located in downtown Chicago at 59th East Chicago Avenue.  This year they are celebrating their 100th year providing high quality, fine Belgian chocolate.


Where did these Belgian delicacies get their start? Leonidas is in fact named after an American confectioner of Cypriot and Greek descent.  After Leonidas Kestekides brought his chocolates to the 1910 World's Fair in Brussells and won the bronze medal, he never left!

 
Leonidas transported his confectionery business from the U.S. to Belgium, married a Belgian woman, and began selling his chocolates at a tea shop that he opened in Ghent in 1913.  It was a hit!  The company now sells chocolates in 350 locations within Belgium, and in 40 countries worldwide, from Cameroon, to Italy, all the way to South Korea and Chile. 

From what I chose to sample at Leonidas, these were my favorites:  a vanilla bourbon butter-cream truffle, a dark chocolate covered Marzipan stick, and a speculoos ganache-filled chocolate square. (Speculoos is the mouth-watering treat that you might know as the Dutch Windmill cookie, which, due to it's delectable compatibility with chocolate, warrants its own post in the future!)

And one last thing--  their hot chocolate is feverishly delicious! My favorite, the Mexican blend, adds a slight bite of chili pepper to the smooth, rich cocoa taste. If you thought you couldn’t enjoy hot chocolate in the summer, Leonidas will change your mind!



As I sipped at the divine chocolate drink, I wondered about the origin of the Leonidas cocoa. After all, their website does mention the origin of other ingredients in their confections: “ Hazelnuts from Turkey, Morello cherries from the Périgord, almonds from Italy and walnuts from Grenoble.”  So...where does the cocoa come from?  When I asked, the woman at the counter said, “Belgium.  It’s all from Belgium.”  So I did a little more perusing and found one clue-- a praline labeled: Pure origin, Sao Tome.

 

Sao Tome e Principe is a West African island country sitting on the equator, just off the shores of Gabon.  The country consists of about 165,000 inhabitants, is the second smallest in Africa (after Seychelles), and is the smallest Portuguese-speaking nation.  And here is the best part about Sao Tome e Principe-- 95% of its export industry comes from cocoa!



So, if a tiny bite of gourmet chocolate doesn’t tickle your fancy, Leonidas also offers coffee, pastries, fresh crepes, and gelato. Imagine all that Leonidas Chocolate Cafe has to offer-- the assortment of cocoa-dusted truffles, chocolate-covered strawberries, white chocolate pralines, and nutella-filled crepes-- and then do what the Leonidas slogan tells you to do: Just think of someone.  There’s got to be something here just for them.