Valentino Chocolatier

Specialties

Valentino Chocolatier brings you the fresh and authentic taste of Belgium chocolates directly to Orange County. You don’t need a Passport or expensive airline ticket to enjoy the same fresh chocolates found in Brussels.

Valentino Chocolatier are made in Belgium and imported via air cargo. Why air cargo? Our competitiors rely on cargo ships and warehousing, thus selling chocolate produced months ago. Everyone enjoys fresh bread… why not fresh chocolates. You will taste the difference.

Belgian chocolates, also referred to as «Pralines», are notoriously the best in the world! One of the reasons is that the Belgium Government has set the highest standards in the world for chocolate quality and taste. Our dark chocolate contains 63% cocoa butter, our milk chocolate has 33% cocoa butter and the white chocolate has 28% cocoa butter. There are NO waxes or preservatives of any kind.

We also sell VEGAN chocolates. This is definitely a rare treat.

History

Established in 2003.

Valentino Chocolatier has been producing fine Belgium chocolates since 1978. Maggie and Vincent Hudson opened the first U.S. Valentino Chocolatier in the Irvine Spectrum on March 29, 2003, their oldest son Hamilton’s birthday. Although the original Valentino Chocolatier shop had only 451 square feet, it was a huge success. Today, there are nearly 100 Valentino Chocolatier shops in the world, 34 shops are located in Belgium and another 50 shops are on four other continents.

In 2006 Maggie decided that the Irvine Spectrum shop didn’t meet the needs of her clientele, so a search was initiated to find a location to expand. On November 11, 2007, Valentino Chocolatier re-​opened in the Tustin District with 921 square feet, more than twice the size of the original location.

Today, customers can sit and enjoy Italian roasted coffee espresso based beverages in ceramic cups, Italian made desserts, freshly diipped chocolate covered strawberries and authentic French Crepes and much more.

Meet the Business Owner

Maggie H.

Business Owner

My passion is to provide the best chocolate experience to every Valentino Chocolatier customer that comes through my door. Our original concept was to transport customers through our door to a real Belgium chocolatier just as they can be found in Brussels.

I grew up in Belgium, right outside the capital, Brussels. That is also where I met my husband, Vincent. After I arrived in the United States, I traveled annually back to Belgium to visit family and friends.

My husband and I decided that with a passion for fresh and authentic Belgium chocolate, accompanied by friendly and knowledgeable customer service, to make our small business a huge success.

Our motto is «One taste is all it takes», meaning once you try Valentino Chocolates, your taste buds won’t accept anything less!

I love what I do, making people happy with great chocolate, real espresso coffee drinks and I enjoy watching their delight in consuming our products.