The Sweet Life

There is no denying that Chef Philippe Daue is passionate about creating super-premium chocolates for others to enjoy. His eyes twinkle as he praises the properties of all things chocolate. Born in Belgium to a family that has a tradition of producing top-quality chefs (his father is a famous two Michelin-starred chef), Daue’s impressive resume includes working as executive pastry chef in several leading five-star hotels across the globe. Having spent the majority of his professional career in Asia fusing eastern and western influences into masterful chocolate creations, it wasn’t long before his unique set of skills caught the attention of the renowned Belgian luxury chocolate brand Godiva.

In December 2012, Daue’s extensive experience in creating decadent desserts earned him the culinary role of a lifetime as chef chocolatier. He says: “It’s a fantastic brand that creates amazing products. I have a very exciting job where I get to learn something new every day. When I tell people that I work for Godiva, their faces just light up. When you talk about chocolate, everybody smiles.”

Currently based in Beijing, Daue focuses on creating new chocolate and pastry products for China and the Pacific Rim markets – familiar territory for this well-travelled chef, whose career in Asia has led him to stints in India, Malaysia and Thailand. “Travelling to a different country and experiencing the local culture is always good for triggering inspirations. This can be anything from discovering a new ingredient to use with chocolate or an interesting shape that can be turned into a mould.”

While some might consider the quest to come up with all kinds of flavours to be a little obsessive, Daue, however, says it’s the key to doing what he loves. “Passion is necessary: you wake up in the morning, and you know that you’re going to talk about chocolate, work with chocolate, deal with people who are in the chocolate industry the whole day, every day. You also have to keep innovating – like any other industry, you have to keep coming up with new things to keep customers excited. You also need to master the skills as you can’t design pieces without the techniques. And chocolate is all about details, following the rules and knowing the right temperatures. If I could go back in time, I would tell my younger self to acquire all the skills much sooner so that I could enjoy it longer.”

It is this passion that has enabled Daue to truly understand the international chocolate market. “What customers like in Europe and the United States is very different compared to those in Asia. Here, people prefer theirs less sweet and fruitier, with lots of nuts to give crunchiness and taste. We respond by going local and that involves a lot of research to find the best matches between chocolate and the available ingredients. We also adapt to local events by introducing seasonal collections for Ramadan, Chinese New Year and the Mooncake Festival, for example.”

Daue has no doubts that Godiva stands heads and shoulders above the competition. “We’re very committed to the quality of the ingredients that we use. For this, we have a special team that travels around the world to find out which ingredients are the best and we use them. For example, we found that the best hazelnuts come from an area in Turkey. Not only are they beautiful and fragrant, the nutty flavour comes out once you roast them.”

“There’s also the craftsmanship; we are the only chocolatier that has a team of chefs based around the world. Every region has somebody in charge of looking after local demand. We also meet a couple of times a year to brainstorm, which usually means spending at least a week going crazy over chocolate and being as creative as we can. Every year, we come up with an incredible amount of new chocolate products as well as packaging, which is just as important. When you gift something, you have to make a statement so that the person who receives it is happy and impressed.”

With such impressive credentials, it comes as no surprise that Godiva is the exclusive supplier to Belgium royalty. “That’s something we are proud of,” he says.