Past Newsletters

June 2007

LEONIDAS Chocolates... a Worldly Treat

LEONIDAS is probably the biggest gourmet chocolatier in Belgium, but their delicious wares are surprisingly hard to get hold of in the USA. Their traditional individual chocolates are crafted in creams, ganaches and pralines, and have been made by chocolate artisans in Belgium for nearly 100 years. With chocolate treats this good, you'll see why the demand has been so high during the last century, and you will experience first hand the challenge of keeping them available in your own home as your supply from the Gourmet Chocolate of the Month Club dwindles faster than you can say LEONIDAS!

First Created in the US, LEONIDAS Is Met with Belgian Affection

What's perhaps most surprising about the chocolates of LEONIDAS is that they were first created in the US which is a bit of a conundrum since most people in the states have never even heard of them, much less experienced the sinful delight that melts forth from each chocolate! Today, the name LEONIDAS has come to represent the quintessential Belgian chocolate--not just to the Belgians, but also to chocolate gourmets and gourmands all over the world. But how did this gourmet powerhouse get started? Like most of our favorite chocolatiers, it was borne out of passion for chocolate making--though LEONIDAS is a bit unique in that love of chocolate was not the only thing that helped established its reputation.

It was the founder's love for a beautiful young Belgian woman that helped secure his place in that chocolate making treasure trove we know as Belgium. Léonidas Kestekides left his home of Constantinople in the early 1900s, living for a time in Greece before traveling to Italy where he became a wine merchant. Times were trying in the region during those days, so Léonidas decided to go to New York, where he began working as a confectioner.

The young Léonidas Kestekides attended the 1910 World Fair in Brussels, where, on his first visit to Belgium, he was met with great success due to the quality of his products. In 1913 he returned to Belgium, with an enhanced variety of chocolate delicacies, and showcased them at the World Fair in Ghent as a member of the Greek delegation from the United States. His efforts were rewarded--to say the least--as he earned the bronze medal for his chocolate confectionary and the coveted gold medal for his patisserie.

As if winning great professional recognition wasn't enough, this charmed soul had also fallen in love with a beautiful young girl from Brussels, whom he later married. Not surprisingly, Léonidas decided to settle permanently in Belgium. Sadly, the two were divorced some years later, but by that time, Léonidas had fallen in love with Brussels, and decided to remain there, where he opened his first confectionery shop. His recipes were a hit and his success spread, from his newly founded tea-rooms in Brussels, Ghent and Blankenberge, and ultimately, throughout the rest of the world.

Passing the Torch, and Innovating the Enterprise

In 1935, Léonidas' nephew Basile Kestekides took up the LEONIDAS torch, incorporating a new company logo showing an effigy of the king of Sparta, LEONIDAS, in honor of his uncle. In his 'laboratoire' on Marché Aux Grains in Brussels, Basile creates a whole range of new chocolates, including the well-known Manon of LEONIDAS. This master-confectioner also has an ingenious business and marketing mind. In 1936, he implemented a revolutionarily novel concept by selling his freshly-made chocolates from the open window of his first shop on Boulevard Anspach. The practice of an open shop window where goods are displayed allowing passers by not only to see the merchandise but to buy them as well, at the time, was highly uncommon. This shop lay-out, at first glance rather odd, appealed to the general public and helped garner immediate success. This led to a series of other companies opening similarly styled shops across Belgium.

Expanding the Family Business Without Sacrificing Standards

As the founder of this fine chocolatier, Léonidas' dream, thoughtfully perpetuated by his successors, was to make his Belgian chocolates available to everyone without lowering standards. An integral part of LEONIDAS' success has been their innovation and willingness to keep the business a family-run endeavor. The third family member from the Kestekidis family to join the enterprise in Belgium was Alexandros Kestekidis. Upon his arrival in 1940, he and Basile worked together developing various new flavors using pralines and alternative chocolate blends. His 58-year long tenure with the company appears to have been the longest among the family members (Basile's was about 35 years), as he continued to take an active role in the company development and flavor innovations until the end of his chairmanship in 1998.

In 1970, other members of the family entered the scene; Yanni Kesdekoglu headed the company until 1985. In 1985, his daughter, Maria Kesdekoglu took over, and was joined in 1992 by her cousin, Vassiliki Kestekidou, who became President of the Board of Directors in 2003.

LEONIDAS' expansion has been seamless as the company remains vigilantly committed to continuing their guarantees of freshness and quality in the products it sells to its customers. In 1983 and 1993, they opened two new factories in order to satisfy the demand from its loyal and ever-increasing clientele. And in 2000, LEONIDAS bought the company that produces the Deva brand products in Slovakia--expanding even further into Eastern Europe and beyond. Today, LEONIDAS chocolates are on sale in 1,700 sales outlets, from Paris to Rome, from Sydney to Tokyo, from Brussels to New York.

LEONIDAS Wins Hands Down!

In response to the question "What is your favorite chocolate?", most Belgian consumers said, LEONIDAS, the undisputed No. 1 Belgian chocolate. This was the outcome of the well-publicized "National Brands Competition 2004" organized by the LDV advertising agency, and its partners. The basis for the competition was very simple: a list of the leading brands in each sector, from cars to washing powders to chocolates was drawn up. A panel of consumers (25,252 as it happens) was then asked to express their likes and dislikes, choosing their preferred brand in each category. In the "Chocolates" category, there was only one winner: LEONIDAS chocolates, for 51.7% of consumers considered that LEONIDAS is and will remain the most popular chocolate in Belgium. The National Brands Competition is organized every year, over the Internet, attracting an ever younger section of consumers, who clearly love LEONIDAS chocolates, just as their elders do. For the first competition, held in 2003, LEONIDAS also won the "Chocolates" category in the National Brands Competition hands down.

What Do We Have Here?

Your box of assorted chocolates in the form of fresh butter creams, cream liquors, caramels, ganaches and pralines, freshly air-freighted from Brussels. It may include selections from the following intriguing list of flavors, in a balanced mix of dark and milk chocolate varieties, with a few white chocolates as well. While we cannot ensure that each box shipped will contain all of these flavors, each shipment sent to our members is sure to provide a palate-pleasing assortment of some of the finest Belgian chocolate the world has ever known!

Fresh Butter Creams

• Lingot -- Coffee butter cream and praline or Vanilla butter cream and praline.
• Manon Café White -- White chocolate ensconcing coffee butter cream, praline and whole roasted hazelnut.
• Mystère -- A delightful blend of chocolate and pistachio butter cream.
• Manon -- Coffee butter cream and praline--available in dark, milk and white chocolate.

Caramels

• Alexander le Grande -- LEONIDAS' finest caramel concealed within either dark or milk chocolate.

Ganaches

• Europe -- A rum ganache unlike any other--available in dark and milk chocolate.
• Tosca -- Brandy harmonized with sweet, sultry ganache, with milk or dark chocolate
• Ganache -- Orange-flavored or pure ganache.
• Antoinette -- Soft and sweet, vanilla ganache in dark or milk chocolate.

Pralines

• Maron Dark -- Dark chocolate coffee praline with caramelized hazelnut pieces.
• Buche Praline -- Pure praline in a thin chocolate shell, milk and dark chocolate.
• Casanova -- Lightly crisped treat, made with puffed rice, milk, dark or white chocolate.
• Louise -- A milk or dark chocolate caramel praline.

Cream Liquors

• Cerise -- Whole Morello cherry with a cream liquor in dark chocolate.

How Should I Store LEONIDAS Chocolates?

Because LEONIDAS chocolates are fresh, they must be carefully stored, and not kept for too long. Our chocolates are best stored in a cool dark place, below 18°C. They should ideally be eaten within 21 days though will keep longer if kept in the refrigerator. Please note that these chocolates should be kept away from other foods with strong odors, so be careful if storing the chocolates in your fridge.

Fine chocolate suggests fine wine and beautiful flowers! Take a look at Wine of the Month Club and Flower of the Month Club! Wine of the Month Club offers excellent international and domestic wines both reds and whites. Check it out at www.winemonthclub.com. Flower of the Month Club offers exquisite fresh cut floral offerings that will adorn any table. Take a look at www.flowermonthclub.com.