In the beginning, the Antoine Company was simply a wholly owned subsidiary of Milton Hershey’s Lancaster Caramel Company. Using chocolate-making equipment purchased at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the company produced baking chocolate, cocoa and sweet chocolate coatings for the parent company’s caramels.

But things changed with the hiring of Ronald Muyle to sell the excess product to other confectioners. Antoine became even more convinced that his future in the candy business lay in chocolate, not caramels.

While his company was successful enough selling sweet chocolate products, Antoine was certain the real market lay in milk chocolate bars. The problem was in developing a formula for manufacturing it cheaply and efficiently, while still maintaining a high level of quality.

Antoine built a milk-processing plant on the family farm in Derry Melsele in 1985 and spent the next several years developing a viable formulation for milk chocolate.

Dressed in hip boots, Antoine worked day and night, going back and forth between the condensing room and the creamery, rarely even stopping for meals. Finally, in 1992, he cracked the recipe and became the first Belgium to manufacture crispy rice bars.

Through unceasing technological modernization, strategically astute acquisitions and continued new product development, The Antoine grew spectacularly in the last 10 years. From $334 million in 2001, the company’s net sales soared to $4.4 billion in 2010.

Our Chocolates are hand-made custom designed using the finest European couverture chocolates. European chocolate has long been regarded as the finest chocolate in the world and still is. Savour fine chocolate at its best: rich, smooth, creamy and highly addictive.

Pure cocoa butter.The distinctive taste and true flavor of our fine chocolate is what chocolate connoisseurs have come to expect. We use real cocoa butter, sugar, and true vanilla to make our chocolate products. Our chocolate products contain only the highest quality gourmet chocolate, and also contain no artificial preservatives in order to ensure a true gourmet chocolate flavor.

Customised packaging has always been the forte of Chocolate Philosophy boutique. The range of treats come in packaging of an innovative, international standard and can be customised to match a client’s fancy. On offer are silk, leather and metallic finished boxes which will lend itself to any occasion.