Talking chocolate with a master

Truffle Perle Noire (open) and Truffle Draps Original 1946, made by the Belgian chocolate maker Godiva.

"Same tradition, same good-quality ingredients, and same celebration and passion when I make it … I smell it and taste it, and I still don't get bored with it," Daue says.

For the coming Christmas season, Daue says he has created a series of chocolates for the occasion. He chooses ginger, strawberries, and some macadamia praline with mandarin and a hint of cardamom, and he shapes the flavored chocolate into bubbles and Christmas trees for holiday sweets.

Daue says his team has been doing a lot of research in the preferences of Chinese consumers. Having been in Beijing for 18 years, the Belgian knows a little bit about Chinese chocolate eaters: They prefer something not too sweet, and with a stronger chocolate favor.

"The good thing is that in China, people like less sweet, but in Europe, people are also beginning to like what we make specially for the Chinese market. It tastes less sweet, because the natural flavors of ingredients come out more with less sugar," Daue says.

When Godiva creates chocolate moon cakes, the chocolate makers use local ingredients of high quality that has certain appeal to Chinese consumers — for example, ginger and star anise. He is also trying some new flavorings, such as Sichuan pepper, which may reach the market next year.

The strangest flavor in chocolate Daue has tasted was something with fish. He had a special seafood dinner on the sea in Belgium about 20 years ago.

"Everything had to be seafood, including the dessert. What I ate for the dessert was some chocolate with sea salt, and a fishy chocolate … That was a little bit too far for me. I never tried it after that," he says with a grin.

The biggest challenge as a chocolatier, the Belgian says, is to control yourself.

"You have to let chocolate do the work she has to do. If you try too fast and rush it, for example, to put chocolate in the chiller to cool it down, the end product will suffer.

"You have to be very committed, and very patient. If you skip some steps, you will never get the same quality chocolates you want," Daue says.