L.a.Burdick

World's Best Chocolates

Filed under: Dining

Luxist readers from around the world have nominated their favorite chocolate companies.

The top five finalists are:

Godiva
Founded in 1926 by Joseph Draps, the Belgian chocolatier has since blossomed into one of the world's most celebrated chocolatiers. Draps opened his first store on a cobblestone street in Brussels nearly a century ago, its name inspired by the legendary Lady Godiva. Though Godiva is famous for its truffles, the chocolatier also produces a wide range of fine chocolate candy.

L.A. Burdick
After years spent studying the art of chocolate in France and Switzerland, Larry Burdick founded his chocolate company in a Brooklyn, New York workshop in 1987. Within a year, he was selling his bonbons to a handful of New York restaurants. In 1990, a positive review in The New York Times sparked interest in Burdick's handwork; a year later, he started his chocolate mail order business.

Gallery: More of the World's Best Chocolate

La Maison du Chocolat
La Maison du Chocolat sets itself apart from other chocolatiers in a number of ways, perhaps none more important than the incredible detail paid to the component parts of its chocolates. The company combs through plantations in South America and Africa; they study not only the cacao beans, but various vintages and the differences between them.

Max Brenner
Founded in 1996 in Israel, Max Brenner bears the combined names of its originators Max Fichtman and Oded Brenner. The company opened ten stores in the Holy Land in its first three years; in 2001, Max Brenner was purchased by Strauss Group, a large food conglomerate. Five years later, the company made its first foray into the U.S. market.

Teuscher
Dolf Teuscher founded the company in 1932, wandering far from his Alpine roots to comb the globe for the best cocoa, marzipan, fruits and nuts he could find. Over years of experimentation, he developed the distinctive recipes that brought Teuscher to the pinnacle of the chocolate world today.

Vote for the company you believe makes the best in chocolate. The winner will be announced on March 1st.

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