Chocolate history workshop Ghent
Description
Ever wanted to make your own chocolate? In this hands-on workshop, you’ll grind cacao beans into chocolate, just like the Maya and Aztecs once did. Create your own chocolate bar and discover the pure flavours of cacao. As you work, you’ll also dive into the fascinating history of Belgian chocolate - from ancient chocolate drinks to the first bonbons. During this workshop, you’ll: • Taste a chocolate drink recipe dating back 5,000 years • Transform cacao beans into chocolate yourself • Recreate a 17th-century hot chocolate recipe • Indulge in chocolate delicacies enjoyed by historical figures across centuries • Discover chocolate’s origins as medicine • Enjoy chocolate bonbons, including the iconic seashells Please note: This is not a chocolate-making class focused on techniques like tempering, melting, or shaping chocolate into truffles or bonbons. Instead, participants will create chocolate from scratch by grinding cacao beans.
Tour Options
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Due to the fact that our shop is located in a historical building, it is not easily accessible by wheelchair. If you use a wheelchair or you have any other support needs, contact us beforehand so we can look together what we can do to make this experience accessible for you.
- This activity takes place in a chocolate shop. The tasting room temperature is around 18°C to maintain the quality of the chocolate. We would advise to bring a sweater if you are easily cold.
Reviews(40)
We LOVED this experience. My teens are still talking about their experience. History and Bean to Bar!
My boyfriend gave me the workshop as a gift for my birthday and what a nice surprise! We had a 2h workshop in small group (we were 5 in total) by Liu. He explained the history of chocolate, we made our chocolate bar from cocoa beans, hot chocolate according to a recipe of the 17th century... Liu was really caring, he did everything to make us feel comfortable, often made little jokes... and answered all our questions! We really had a great time and I recommend this workshop 100%! Really an experience to test:)
Tout d'abord, j'adore le titre de votre commentaire ! Ravie d'apprendre que vous avez apprécié votre surprise d'anniversaire. You have bean wonderful guests ;)
Absolutely LOVED it! Learned so much about chocolate and really enjoyed trying the different parts of the Cacao.
Hey Dolores, thank you for leaving us this review! We absolutely love it !
This experience was amazing! Our tour guide was really knowledgeable and friendly. It was great to see how much effort goes into making a chocolate bar.
Thank you for this amazing review 😊 All the best !
We made a bar of chocolate from scratch by hand! A fabulous experience. We learned the history of chocolate, tried original drinking chocolate, made chocolate tea, flavoured our own drinking chocolate and tasted an exquisite selection of chocolates. A very original, personal and professional experience.
Thank you for the wonderful review and for choosing our workshop! Very nice for us to read !
A fun and informative knowledge with a nice alternation between history, facts and getting started. The two hours flew by! Absolutely recommended partly by the friendly host.
Dankjewel voor de leuke review en natuurlijk om voor onze workshop te kiezen! Echt superleuk voor ons om te horen dat de tijd voorbij is gevlogen ! ' T allerbeste!
Very nice experience!!! Definitely recommended. It's fun and small-scale setup. You get a piece of chocolate history and taste the original flavors.
Bedankt om de tijd te nemen om deze enthousiaste review te schrijven :) Heel fijn voor ons om te lezen !
Dorien and Liu are two enthusiastic chocolate lovers who have turned their passion into a special business. We were warmly welcomed by Liu who brought the history of chocolate to life in a lively and interactive way. You get to get to work yourself and experience what it's like to make chocolate from scratch – which makes you appreciate the pure taste of the "black gold" even more. It is surprising to discover what is possible with just a few cocoa beans. I received this workshop as a gift from my son; It was a unique experience and provides beautiful memories.
Bedankt voor de prachtige review, het is ontzettend fijn voor ons om dit te lezen ! Heel leuk om te horen dat jullie ervan genoten hebben. Altijd welkom, mochten jullie nog eens in de buurt zijn. Alvast een gelukkig 2026 gewenst ! Dorien & Liu
We thoroughly enjoyed our experience, booked for my partner's birthday weekend. Liu was very friendly, funny, informative, and accommodating throughout, striking a great balance befitting of the occasion. We would certainly recommend this to anyone interested and wish to personally thank Liu for his time and passion.
Thank you Marcus for the recommendation and all the kind words! We are happy to have been part of the birthday weekend ! All the best to you.
We attended the history of chocolate making workshop recently with Xiao and had such a wonderful time. It was the absolute highlight of our trip! The surroundings are so comfortable and serene, so we relaxed and learned a lot. The process of chocolate making is actually very mindful and we felt truly zen when we emerged. The chocolate itself is delicious and of course such high quality! I highly recommend this experience as very good value for money!
Hey Stephanie, thank you for taking the time to leave us this wonderful review & of course for joining our workshop! It's super nice for us to hear you had a relaxing time here and you even felt zen when leaving. 😊 it's a big compliment for us. Wish you all the best !
