La Tabletterie: create your own chocolate at La Belgique Gourmande in Brussels
On Rue de la Colline, steps from Grand-Place, a three-choice experience lets every visitor design a personal chocolate bar.
A chocolate bar made your way, in central Brussels
A few steps from the Grand-Place of Brussels, 9 Rue de la Colline is home to an experience for curious chocolate lovers: La Tabletterie by La Belgique Gourmande. Here, visitors do not simply choose a bar from a shelf. They compose one to suit their taste.
The official method comes down to three clear choices. First, select the size of the bar. Next, choose dark, milk or white chocolate. Finally, add toppings. The company lists almonds, coconut, caramel, speculoos, Smarties, meringue and cuberdons among the options. That simplicity is the concept’s strength: everyone can build a personal combination using instantly recognisable Belgian flavours.
What is known — and what we do not claim
On its official page, La Belgique Gourmande describes La Tabletterie as the only place in Brussels where customers can make their own chocolate bar. That exclusivity is the company’s commercial claim, and we report it as such. The public information does not provide temperatures, tempering details, resting times or the origin of the cacao. BXL Positive therefore does not present the experience as « bean-to-bar » or invent technical steps.
The documented know-how lies in the clear process, guidance through the choices and the assembly of a personalised bar for each visitor. La Tabletterie must also be distinguished from the wider shop. La Belgique Gourmande says it selects products from Belgian artisans; this does not mean that everything sold on Rue de la Colline is made on site.
A Belgian company shaped by travel
La Belgique Gourmande was founded by Henry de Giey, his wife Carine and their business partner Vinod Gautam. According to the company’s About page, Henry de Giey and Vinod Gautam previously gained Travel Retail experience at Brussels Airport and other European airports.
In a profile published on 30 July 2025, La Libre reported that the company was then celebrating its 20th anniversary. The first shop mentioned in that interview is the one in Galerie de la Reine. This independent account helps explain the company’s reputation: an address designed to offer visitors an unapologetically Belgian selection of pralines, biscuits, sweets and other treats.
The location is no coincidence. Rue de la Colline connects one of the busiest parts of the historic centre with the surrounding shopping streets. The shop therefore welcomes both short-stay visitors and Brussels residents looking for a personalised gift.
Why the experience works
La Tabletterie makes Belgian chocolate participatory without making it complicated. Visitors understand the process at a glance and leave with a creation that reflects their taste. The chocolate establishes the recipe; the toppings then give it a distinctive personality. Speculoos and cuberdons add an especially familiar Belgian note.
The shop also fits naturally into a central Brussels visit, before or after the Grand-Place and the Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries. Its official schedule, every day from 9 am to 11 pm, offers a wide window for a visit. Trading hours can change, so the official shop page remains the best reference on the day.
Practical information
- Address: 9 Rue de la Colline, 1000 Brussels
- Telephone: +32 2 513 21 66
- Official opening hours: seven days a week, 9 am to 11 pm
- Experience: choose the size, dark, milk or white chocolate, then the toppings
- Good to know: the official website publishes no price, weight or preparation time; ask the shop directly for those details
On-site report: the personalised bar takes shape
The BXL Positive team visited Rue de la Colline to see the process up close. In our on-site photographs, the bars are finished by hand with fruit, pistachios, crisp pearls and white-chocolate decorations. Our bar featured strawberries, pistachios, a small white-chocolate Manneken-Pis and the message “Les Recos de Lio”.
The personalisation filmed on site. © Bernard Frisque · BXL Positive
🔗 Verifiable sources & links
- https://labelgiquegourmande.com/fr/la-tabletterie/
- https://labelgiquegourmande.com/fr/shops/colline/
- https://labelgiquegourmande.com/fr/a-propos/
- https://www.grsh.be/en/store/la-belgique-gourmande/
- https://www.lalibre.be/economie/entreprises-startup/2025/07/30/la-belgique-gourmande-un-grand-bollewinkel-a-la-belgitude-revendiquee-les-gens-aiment-voir-dans-quel-pays-ils-sont-en-train-de-voyager-X4V6VVQTQNFCTEN4QRJPNY5MQU/
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