Pralines anchored in Ostend
Olivier Willems’ signature pralines promise you a sensory experience with layered flavours, refined textures, and a personal twist. Craftsmanship, creativity, and innovation go hand in hand here. Each praline tells a story.
This selection of pralines is an ode to Ostend, cast in chocolate.
Poppolou Rocks
One of our bestselling creations: PoppoLou Rocks. A praline in which you see and taste the sea. The red-orange glow refers to a summer sunset, the caramel brown to warm sand underfoot. A pinch of sea salt refines the flavour and secretly makes it addictive.
The ganache combines the local PoppoLou beer with the Açaí berry from Brazil: a fusion of Ostend and the world beyond. Finished as a shiny red work of art, a nod to the Ostend Rock Strangers by Arne Quinze. Rock & chocolate, in true Ostend style.
Õ CACÃO
What if cocoa doesn't stop at chocolate?
Õ CACÃO was born out of curiosity, craftsmanship, and family. Starting from his Bean-to-Bar cocoa beans, Olivier Willems joined forces with the Ostend Distillery and created a premium cocoa gin with a changing character. His wife and daughters have each contributed in their own way to ensure the gin exists. Thus, Õ CACÃO has grown into a true family gin.
The story doesn't stop there. Around the gin, accompanying chocolate creations also grew: a refined gin praline with caramel filling and a layer of cocoa fruit jelly, as well as chocolate chips with sea salt, in which cocoa plays a different role each time.
Ensor pralines
Translating Ensor into chocolate, Olivier Willems has succeeded.
James Ensor and his masks. Playful. Strange. Sometimes confronting. Always layered.
For Olivier, they were an irresistible source of inspiration. The result: one expressive mask and four completely different flavours.
Open the painting and taste what lies behind it. From Stormy Clouds with white chocolate and coffee aroma, to Brume de mer with fondant chocolate and dark ganache. In between: Sable salé with hazelnut praline and sea salt. Finally, Tea at Sea, where milk chocolate, caramel, and tea come together subtly.
James Ensor and Olivier Willems: two boundary-pushing Ostend artists, each in their own art form.