La Bottega della Leopolda

by Doreen Pendgracs ·Visiting Pisa as described in my last post wasn’t what it was all about for me. Yes, I totally enjoyed the local culture and cuisine, and learned much visiting the historic relics. But I was there for the chocolate and to experience chocolate in Pisa with Paul de Bondt.We were lucky with the timing of our visit in that we were in Pisa for dolce Mente, a festival of sweets. The man I was looking for was to be there. I had come a long way to meet him, but somehow knew it would be worth the effort. I was so right.We entered the festival in time to see Dutch-born chocolatemaker, Paul de Bondt, stirring up a pot of what looked like dry ice, causing considerable smoke and excitement in the room. Turns out he was making a very special and delicious gelato.Paul de Bondt making his very special chocolate gelatoPaul de Bondt and his Italian wife, Cecilia Iacobelli are the dynamic duo behind de Bondt Cioccolato Originale. (Now called Cecilia and Paul.) Spending two hours with this chocolate master was all I needed to help me tighten the focus for my chocolate book. It was my epiphany as de Bondt enabled me to get inside the mind of a chocolate master.