Julius Persoone & Alina Kulinicheva

Pralines with homegrown tomatoes, caramelised shrimp heads and fermented mushrooms: Julius likes to think outside the box and that’s clear to anyone who sees the selection at his chocolate shop. He took over the business a few years ago from his father, Dominique Persoone, who gave him free rein. Traditional flavours hold no appeal for Julius. “I’m not interested in making sweet bonbons for grandma, I want each praline to be an experience.”

Moments later, the young chocolatier wanders through his fermentation lab where an endless array of pots are fermenting and bubbling. Here, he subjects parsnip, maize and celeriac juice to lacto-fermentation. This process produces intensely hearty flavours you wouldn’t immediately associate with chocolate, yet in Julius’ skilled hands, the results are amazing. It would be an understatement to say that a fresh wind is blowing through The Chocolate Line. Julius is a hurricane roaring through the world of chocolate.

“To me, a praline can only be considered a success when it inspires emotion. When a fellow chocolatier tasted our fermented tomato praline, tears came to his eyes. He was transported back to his Italian grandmother’s kitchen. It’s for such moments that I spend days experimenting in the workshop.”

After his training, Julius set off to explore chocolate’s origins, working at The Chocolate Line’s cocoa plantation for several months. “Since 2012, we have had our own plantation in Mexico, where we grow the rare Criollo variety. The quality of the cocoa beans is exceptional. We roast them briefly at a low temperature to preserve the fruity acids that are naturally present in the cocoa. You can detect notes of apricot and roses in the chocolate. The industrial players use bulk cocoa roasted at high temperatures. The burned flavour masks the beans’ poor quality. As a result, you lose all nuance.” At the plantation, Julius experiment with crossing different types of cocoa. “I’m hoping to create my own unique variety. I live to do what no-one else is doing.”

Julius can concentrate on his creative efforts thanks to his girlfriend Alina, who handles the practical side. “If Julius decides he wants to make a yuzu praline, it’s up to me to source the best fruit.” The traceability of each praline is also her responsibility. “When we buy maize from a local farmer, that batch must be assigned a number so we can track all the ingredients for each praline. There’s much more to making pralines than creativity alone.”