Thursday, 17 December 2015

Eat Cake and Be Merry!


All our Luxury Handmade Gateau & Patisserie still available to order for Christmas Collection 

Make this Christmas your sweetest ever with our traditional range of Christmas Logs and Cakes. Don’t wait until the last minute and order now. We are open for collection until 2pm on the Christmas Eve.





Thursday, 22 January 2015

Saint Valentine's Day 2015

MILLEFEUILLE DES AMOUREUX
St Valentine's Special Cake from Belgique Patisserie
#StValentine's Special Cake. Over a base of #miserable #sponge (almonds sponge) a chocolate and #hazelnuts #feuillantine (craquant),
Between a layer of milk chocolate plaque a light #vanilla #bavarois #mousse, fresh #raspberries and bitter chocolate mousse topped with milk chocolate plaque and #fresh #fruits.


Saint Valentine's Day, also known as Valentine's Day or the Feast of  Saint Valentine, is a holiday observed on February 14 each year. It is celebrated in many countries around the world. 

Valentine's Day falling on a Saturday this year and it is a perfect day for people to tell somebody that they love them in a romantic way. Belgique will feature a special Valentine's Day 2015 menu and Jazz Evening
please follow us on FACEBOOK for more details and bookings. 

If you decide to stay at home, why not to make this day special and treat your loved one to a delicious Valentine’s Day Cake from Belgique Patisserie.  
order online one of our cakes made with love.

All cakes are Hand Made by our patisserie chef and specially decorated.
 With rich & delicious Belgian Callebaut Chocolate.


Valentines day cakes - Plaisir d Amour from Belgique

 An exclusive cake for #Valentine day! Dark #chocolate #brownie with a layer of chocolate #mousse and a light #vanilla #mascarpone #cream. Filled with a #raspberry and #balsamic #coulis. Decorated with white #velvet chocolate and fresh fruits

ORDER NOW 

Decadently Delicious Valentine's cake


All of our personalised cakes are available to order online or directly from the Belgique Patisserie in
 Online order will be made available for collection from your chosen Belgique branch, ready for your special event. Great for this #ValentinesDay or for every #celebrations, #birthdays, #christenings, #graduation, #holidays, #anniversaries, #parties or any other #special #occasion.
 
 
Duo St Valentine cake for ValentinesDay2015

Duo ST Valentine

2 Small Heart Shaped Cakes

#CelebrateWithStyle

Tuesday, 5 August 2014

Creative Marzipan Book by Igor Bekaert

 Help us to make it happen! 

Belgique recomend:
Igor Bekaert,  started a #crowdfunding campaign on #indiegogo to self-publish a Book on #Marzipan & #Chocolate Creations.

It is most chefs, Pattissiers and Chocolatiers dream to publish a book to share their passion for creation. Like in my case I get an enormous kick from seeing my creations bringing a smile to people’s faces. I hope the book will bring out the same passion for creativity in everyone joining the campaign. However when you approach the companies creating and publishing these books you part with several thousands of pounds with no guarantee of success whatsoever.
So why not do it the other ”trendy” way and use people power or  in other words “crowdfunding”

This is nothing more than getting up front benefits like pre-ordered book or Marzipan and Chocolate course whiles sharing some of the benefits with the wider community. 

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CONTRIBUTE NOW

Wednesday, 5 March 2014

In Belgium, beer is more than just a frothy beverage - it is a culture.

Don't miss out our biggest Belgian Beers Sale !
Buy from a selection of Mixed Cases

 24 BEERS FOR JUST £23.75 !

Try the mix of Classic or very unique Belgian beers...
Hurry up Limited stock Available !


ORDER FROM OUR ONLINE STORE

Thursday, 8 August 2013



Draught or Draft beer!


Draught beer, also knowned as draft beer, is from the word “draught” and is served directly from the cask rather than from a bottle or can.

At Belgique with your Bapas Menu


The difference of draught beer is that in order to keep the best possible flavor, is almost never pasteurized in the brewery. This means keg need to be kept cold, but not frozen.

1691, John Lofting, held a patent for a fire engine

In the early 20th century, draught beer started to be served from pressurised containers.

In 1936,  Artificial carbonation was introduced in the United Kingdom.

In Britain, the Campaign for Real Ale was founded in 1971 to protect traditional - unpressurised beer and brewing methods.



Belgian Draught Beers at Belgique UK:

Chimay

"Chimay is an authentic Trappist beer. That means that it is brewed within the walls of a Trappist monastery under the control and responsibility of the community of monks, and whose revenue is devoted to social service.
In order to provide for their needs and those of their foundations, as well as to support employment in their region, the Cistercian Trappist monks of Chimay have, since 1862, developed the production of Belgian beers and Trappist cheeses that, thanks to their character and their qualities, found and continue to find great success.

Since 1862 the monks of Chimay have been brewing their first brew "Chimay Première" according to the monastic tradition of natural brewing.
1948, Father Theodore isolates the unique yeast cells that today still form the basis for brewing the Chimay beers and creates the Chimay Red in 33 cl bottle." (Chimay)


Chimay - Trappist Beer on draught

Bruges Zot 

"Bruges Zot is a golden beer with a rich head and a fruity aroma. The beer is brewed with four different malts and two aromatic hopvariteiten which give the beer a unique taste. The alcohol content of 6% Vol it is a balanced by drinking beer with character.Bruges Zot is a natural beer, which is produced from a selection of only the finest ingredients. The bottle fermentation also ensures that the beer has a longer shelf life natural. Bruges Zot is a living beer with taste evolution.
The only beer that is actually brewed and lagered in Brugge (Bruges)." (Halvemaan)

Bruges Zot Beer on draught


Lindemans Kriek

"In origin, this sweet-acid drink was obtained by adding fresh black cherries to a barrel Lambic of 6 months young. The addition of fruits provokes a new fermentation in the oak barrels. After another 8 to 12 months, only peels and stones left and the Kriek-Lambic is ready to be filtered and bottled. The residual sugar can be adjusted with straight-on fruit juice to give a refermentation in the bottle. This traditional type of fruit beer is more acid and less fruity.

Because of the limited availability of the "Schaerbeekse Cherries", just as to brew a less sour and more fruity Lambic beer, Lindemans farm brewery developed an unique alternative natural method using pure cherry juice from unfrozen cherries. This straight cherry juice is blended with selected Lambic of different ages." (Lindemans)


Lindemans Kriek Beer on draught



Friday, 5 July 2013

A bit of Chocolate - history


A bit of Chocolate - history







Many modern historians have estimated that chocolate has been around for about 2000 years, not even more. The earliest record of chocolate was over fifteen hundred years ago in the Central American rain forests.

The Cacao Tree was worshipped by the Mayan civilisation. Cacao is actually a Mayan word meaning "God Food" hence the tree's modern generic Latin name 'Theobrama Cacao' which means ‘Food of the Gods’. 





The Aztecs, like the Mayans, also enjoyed Cacao as a beverage fermented from the raw beans. The Aztecs called this drink Xocolatl, but since it was almost impossible to pronounce Spanish corrupted it to the easier 'Chocolat' an finally the the English further changed to Chocolate.



Chocolate was brought to Europe by Cortez - a young Spaniard who went to Cuba to find his fortune - and the first chocolate factories opened in Spain. 
The Cocoa beverage made from the powder produced in Spain had become popular throughout Europe and - in about 1520 - it arrived in England and it took almost a century for the first Chocolate House in England, which opened in London in 1657.








After 17th century many innovation changes happened and the invention of the steam engine made mass production possible. Chocolate Chocolate started to become as we know it today. 


Key chocolate moments

  • The first chocolate made by machine is produced in Barcelona, Spain (1780).
  • J. S. Fry & Sons uses steam power to grind the cacao beans for the first time in England (1795).
  • In 1822 John Cadbury, who tried to convince people that drinking chocolate was much healthier than alcohol, opens a tea/ coffee shop in Birmingham(1822).
  • The first manufacturer of chocolate - J. S. Fry & Sons - in England creates the first chocolate bars(1847). 
  • Daniel Peter figures the perfect combination of milk and cocoa power and invents milk chocolate1875)




It's hard to pin down exactly when chocolate was born, but it's clear that it was cherished from the very star! And will be…


Friday, 14 June 2013




“CAPTURE YOUR BELGIQUE MOMENT"



                                        

To celebrate summer 2013, join Belgique's competition to win a trip for 2 to the beautiful city of Bruges in Belgium.
We are inviting all fans of Belgique to capture their greatest “Belgique moments” & share them with our Facebook competition page. The entrant that gets the most “likes” will win a weekend break to Bruges. Including accommodation in the city, a gastronomic meal on one night & a beer pairing. Tasting some of the greatest Belgian beers available.



We want you to capture your favourite & greatest Belgique moments, whether in one of our stores, restaurants, at one of our events or even at home with one of our cakes.
Enter via our facebook competition page, “post” them (with a small description & your name) and invite your friends to vote!!!


          


The entry that has the highest number of “likes” will win a trip for 2 to Bruges in 2013*.


*The competition opens June 3rd 2013 & the final closing date is 31st August 2013. 1 trip is available to win for each month of the competition. Winners will be drawn after the closing date (midnight on the last day of each month). Competition weekend breaks will need to be taken between 18th October 2013 & 15th December 2013 inclusive.


Bruges

Please read our Entry details along with our Terms & Conditions for full details
ENTRY DETAILS
In order to participate in the competition, please “like” us on the Belgique fan page. https://www.facebook.com/BelgiqueUK?fref=ts & remain a fan until at least the end of the competition period.
Images should be uploaded as Jpgs 


COMPETITION TERMS AND CONDITIONS
By entering a competition on the Belgique Facebook page you are agreeing to Belgique storing and using your information for marketing purposes. We will not share your information with third parties unless you specifically agree to us sharing these details and you can opt out at any time by unsubscribing from emails or emailing us directly.
This Promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. By participating you hereby release and hold harmless Facebook from any and all liability associated with this promotion.
Entrants are providing information to Belgique and not to Facebook.

Please read these competition rules carefully. By entering our competition, you are confirming that you have read these rules and agree to them.
1. To enter a competition you must be:
(a) A UK resident; and
(b) 18 years old or over at the time of entry.
With a valid passport or means of ID that allows travel within Europe

2. All Entries must be submitted by 31st August 2013 (the closing date)

3. Participation & votes may be cast by those that join (“like”) Belgique’s fan page. Any vote or participation that occurs outside of this term may be removed.

4. Competitions are not open to employees (or members of their immediate families) of Belgique.
5. You must be the author/copy write holder of all images submitted. By submitting your photo you understand and agree that Belgique has no obligation to publish your photo.
6. Belgique accepts no responsibility for contestants photos, their copyright & comments posted.
7. Any entries must be clearly relevant & relate to the Belgique brand, its products or services
8. Belgique does not accept liability for the publication of unlawfully reproduced images. By entering the competition, the entrant accepts all responsibility for the images that they post.
9. By adding photos to the Facebook competition gallery you are granting permission for these images to be used by Belgique Retail Ltd & any of its affiliated companies, including online at www.belgique.co.uk , in other online communications, & marketing materials deemed fit by Belgique Retail Ltd for use within its business & that of its affiliated companies*. The entrant also agrees to provide Belgique Retail Ltd with any source material or proof of permission on request.
10. Entries must be posted on Facebook,
11. No responsibility can be accepted for entries that are not received for any reason.
12. The winner will be the entrant(s) who has received the most likes for his/her captured moment, at the end of any one given period. The periods of the competition are defined as;
(a) June 1st 2013 to June 30th 2013
(b) July 1st 2013 to July 31st 2013
(c) August 1st 2013 to August 31st 2013
The voting for each period will close at midnight on the last day of each period as defined above.
13. The closing date is as specified in each competition, and Belgique reserves the right to amend the competition end date at any time.
14. If you win a competition, we will notify you by telephone or e-mail. If we cannot contact you or you do not respond within two weeks, we reserve the right to offer the prize to another competition entrant.
15. The prize is not transferable to another person.
16. An entrant may enter as many images as they like into the competition. However, for the purposes of the competition, the entrant (& their household) is limited to winning the prize only once, irrelevant of number of votes, period entered or entries posted. Any one entrant (or household) may not win multiple times or from multiple competition periods.
17. Images may only be entered once. Duplicate images will not be counted in the competition, additionally we reserve the right to remove any duplicate images.
18. There is only one prize for the winner of any one competition period. There are no runners’ up prizes.
19. No prize or part of a prize is exchangeable for cash, tickets or services.
20. If an advertised prize is not available, we reserve the right to offer an alternative prize.
21. Incorrectly completed entries will be disqualified.
22. The prize comprises of: A weekend trip via Eurostar for 2 including transfers & accommodation to the Belgian City of Bruges (staying Friday & Saturday nights). The trip includes a meal on one night at a gastronomic restaurant (of the competition organisers choosing) in the city with a beer pairing.
23. The weekend break may be taken at anytime between 18th October 2013 to 15th December 2013 inclusive. Availability cannot be guaranteed until confirmation of the booked dates has taken place. Any extension of the dates in which a break may be taken due to lack of availability or any other reason will be at the sole discretion of Belgique Retail Ltd
24. The organiser (Belgique Retail Ltd) will be in contact with the winner from any one competition period within 7 days after the closing date.
25. The trip will depart from London St Pancreas. The winner & their +1 will be responsible for organising & the cost of their own transport to the point of departure
26. Belgique reserves the right, at our discretion, to disqualify or discount any entrant, image or vote if believed that these have unfair in their casting or entry in any way.
27. Please read our Privacy Policy which tells you how we use any personal information we may collect about you by entering a competition.
28. Belgique Retail Ltd reserves the right to amend the terms & conditions of this competition at any time.
*Affiliated companies include but are not limited to; Belgique (Wanstead) Ltd, Belgique (Woodford) Ltd, Belgique (South Woodford) Ltd, Belgique (Epping) Ltd, Belgique (Chingford) Ltd, Belgique (Loughton) Ltd, Belgique (Theydon) Ltd, Belgique (Ware) Ltd, Belgique (Bishops Stortford) Ltd, Belgique (Head Office) Ltd, Made In Belgium Ltd.