About Vandenbouhede :
"EVERYTHING STARTS IN 1960...
Maurice Vandenbouhede and his wife Rachel take over a bakery/patisserie in the Koningin Astridlaan.
During his apprenticeship in Brussels he had not only made bread and patisserie, but his love for chocolate had also grown there. As one of the first bakers in Ghent, he started processing many kilos of chocolate into pralines and confectionery.
He would pass on the love for the profession to his 2 sons, Janique and Wim.
From 1982 ...... Janique assisted his father in the studio to completely take over production from 1984. He in the studio, his mother in the shop. Father Maurice came daily to take a look at the studio and approved his son.
In 1990 Janique took over the business completely with his wife Nancy.
Janique's dream came true with the furnishing of a separate chocolate workshop on the first floor. Chocolate sales were further expanded. Chocolate was after all Janique's great passion.
Just under 30 years later, in 2019 Janique and Nancy closed the business. They would take it easy.
The love for chocolate decided otherwise after a while.
Their son Stijn was often found in the chocolate workshop as a little boy, later working on the machines himself during the holidays.
What no one expected happened. Stijn, who had meanwhile completed the hotel school, came at the end of 2019 with the request to start a chocolate shop together.
Stijn's dreams for the future, Janique his passion. It didn't take much time, the decision had been made.
In the Mageleinstraat they found the building as they had in mind. An open studio where you can see the production in their basement studio from both the street and the shop. In addition, this basement floor is also accessible for visitors, so that you are fully shielded yet in the middle of production.
The knowledge he acquired and continues to receive from his father, and the chocolate training he followed, make Stijn (19 when the business started) probably the youngest chocolatier with his own business in Belgium."
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