The International Chocolate Awards is pleased to announce the Grand Jury Finalists of the Belgian competition which was held in Brussels, Belgium on 2 – 5 February.

The judges were drawn from local experts, food journalists and pastry chefs from Belgium and members of our permanent international Grand Jury and guest judges from Italy and France.

The Grand Jury Finalists are the entries that made it through to the final Grand Jury round, following an initial technical Selection round and two days of Main round judging. The Finalists are the nominations from which the Grand Jury select the prize winners, through private voting. The Grand Jury follow strict rules, which you can read here (PDF).

While listing as a Grand Jury Finalist is an achievement in itself, it does not necessarily indicate that the entry received a prize.

The 2017 Belgian Finalists are:

(In alphabetical order within each category)

---

Ganaches, palets, ganache pralines and truffles

Unflavoured dark chocolate ganaches or truffles

Sigoji (Belgium) - Sigoji
Didier Smeets (Belgium) - Origine Vietnam
Darcis Chocolatier (Belgium) - Bean-to-Bonbon "Cameroun"
Carré Noir (Belgium) - Vietnam

Flavoured dark chocolate ganaches or truffles

The Cacao tree (Belgium) - Frambeau
Sigoji (Belgium) - Camé
Demaret Chocolatier (Belgium) - Raspberries
Patisserie-Chocolaterie Yasushi Sasaki (Belgium) - Praliné au YUZU
Legendary / de zwarte vos (Belgium) - Korea
Sigoji (Belgium) - Jasmin
Laurent Gerbaud Chocolatier (Belgium) - Ganache aux olives Taggiasche
Laurent Gerbaud Chocolatier (Belgium) - Ganache Yuzu
Laurent Gerbaud Chocolatier (Belgium) - Ganache au Poivre de Jamaïque
Chocolatier M (Belgium) - Kyoto
Chocolatier M (Belgium) - Gin-Tonic

Flavoured milk chocolate ganaches or truffles

Chocolatier M (Belgium) - Tingling passion

Flavoured white chocolate ganaches or truffles

Chocolatier M (Belgium) - Louise

Flavoured ganaches or truffles with combination coating or filling

Jérôme Grimonpon Chocolatier (Belgium) - Detox
Chocolatier Reen (Belgium) - Lavender praline
Chocolatier Reen (Belgium) - Fresh mint praline
Patisserie-Chocolaterie Yasushi Sasaki (Belgium) - Praliné au cannelle figue
Darcis Chocolatier (Belgium) - Ganache Miel & Vanille
Darcis Chocolatier (Belgium) - Dôme de Céliandre Chardonnay
Laurent Gerbaud Chocolatier (Belgium) - Ganache Bergamote

---

Nuts

Nut based pralines with dark chocolate

Champagne Arnaud (Belgium) - Praliné Feuillantine et ganache passion
Demaret Chocolatier (Belgium) - Petit Noir
Laurent Gerbaud Chocolatier (Belgium) - Praliné Cacahuète
Laurent Gerbaud Chocolatier (Belgium) - Praliné Sésame
Laurent Gerbaud Chocolatier (Belgium) - Praliné Crumble
Laurent Gerbaud Chocolatier (Belgium) - Bi-couche Praliné amande & abricot à la lavande
Laurent Gerbaud Chocolatier (Belgium) - Praliné Pécan & Airelles

Nut based pralines with milk chocolate

The Cacao tree (Belgium) - Millefeuille
Chocolatier Reen (Belgium) - BBB: Back to Basics Balls
Laurent Gerbaud Chocolatier (Belgium) - Praliné Cajou
Chocolatier M (Belgium) - Peanuts & co

---

Caramels

Dark chocolate enrobed caramels

The Cacao tree (Belgium) - Le Dôme Salé
Chocolatier M (Belgium) - Tokyo Dreams

Milk chocolate enrobed caramels

Didier Smeets (Belgium) - Sphère fusion
Sigoji (Belgium) - Ginger
Legendary / de zwarte vos (Belgium) - Cassis
Chocolatier M (Belgium) - Oriënt
Carré Noir (Belgium) - Dulcey

---

Spreads

Spreads with milk chocolate

Bruyerre (Belgium) - Pâte à tartiner Bruyerre
Didier Smeets (Belgium) - Pâte à tartiner noisette