Belgian chocolate: Meet Dominique Persoone, Belgium's rock'n'roll chocolatier

Belgians do chocolate like Texans do oil: by the truckload. Belgium produces 200,000 tons of chocolate per year, which may explain the startling per capita consumption of 7.5 kilos a year. But Belgians are interested in more than just quantity. They particularly savour the high-quality chocolate produced by artisanal chocolatiers, who sell their handmade pralines individually or in small selections in elegant boutiques. These boutiques, by the way, are open until late at night – because Belgians know the need for a chocolate fix can strike at any time.

Belgium's most respected chocolatiers are revered for their quality ingredients and their inventive flavours. On both counts, few can compete with Dominique Persoone. Unlike some of his peers, Persoone doesn't believe that bigger is better. His retail store, The Chocolate Line, has only two outlets: one in his hometown of Bruges, one in Antwerp. His creations are also found in Belgium's most celebrated restaurants, which commission exclusive ranges to serve after dessert.

It only takes one bite to see what makes Persoone's chocolate different. The toughest decision is where to start. A praline flavoured with sake? A chocolate shell filled with a warming mix of cabernet sauvignon vinegar and caramel? Perhaps a curve of white chocolate bursting with fresh and fruity flavours of coriander, chilli and cachaça in lime jelly? The combinations are unexpected and utterly delicious.

One of only three chocolatiers listed in the Michelin guide, Persoone frequently collaborates with the world's most innovative chefs, including Rene Redzepi, Heston Blumenthal and Alex Atala. However, he still retains the rock'n'roll streak that initially made him famous. His violet creams come in the shape of skulls, and he invented a machine for the Rolling Stones so they could snort chocolate powder. Hence his nickname, the Shockolatier.

As I find out when I visit his Bruges factory, he also has a taste for machetes. A half dozen machetes hang on the wall in the staff canteen where we meet. I'm keen to find out more about them, but first Persoone wants to show me something. "Let's go on the roof!" he says.

On the rooftop, Persoone has set up a number of hives containing 300,000 bees; his contribution to the international effort to save the honeybee. His staff have become enthusiastic bee-keepers, and the results have been impressive: they have already harvested 210 kilos of honey. Naturally, Persoone has started playing with ways to incorporate honey into his chocolates, and he also sells the honey in his shops.

A chocolate shop should be like a fish shop: fresh, fresh, fresh!

Dominique Persoone

The self-harvested honey fits in with Persoone's philosophy. "A chocolate shop should be like a fish shop: fresh, fresh, fresh!" he tells me, brimming with his trademark enthusiasm. Persoone, who trained as a chef, retains a chef's respect for ingredients, travelling to Piemonte each hazelnut season, visiting the farms to decide which has the best hazelnuts before placing his order. He doesn't stop there. Persoone makes regular trips to Latin America with a gang of like-minded friends to visit different cocoa plantations: which is where the machetes come in.