Who wouldn’t be amazed by the wonderful world of a real chocolate
factory, full of enormous, shiny copper machines, grinding, steaming
and creating the most delicious chocolate you could ever imagine?
The Chocolate Factory is a late 19th century adventure, the most exciting
era of the cocoa- and chocolate industries and a place where you can
see, smell, taste and feel chocolate. Here you will be able to experience
the entire process of creating chocolate, from cocoa bean till bonbon.
The Chocolate Factory is a world full of magic and adventure for all
ages.
However.... please be patient for a just a bit longer... because The
Chocolate Factory still has to be built! We are working very hard
to realize this mouthwatering project and with a little luck we will
be able to open our doors in the autumn of 2009.
Then we will be proud to welcome all the children, parents, grandparents,
schoolteachers, tourists – well, let’s just say: all the
chocolate lovers in the whole wide world!
The Chocolate Factory will actually be one big, delicious treat. All
your senses will be invited and stimulated, as you will be able to
see, smell, feel and taste real chocolate. Experiencing chocolate
will become an unforgettable event!
Our factory full of treats will be located in a factory filled with
actual machinery from antique chocolate factories. Famous former Dutch
chocolate factories such as Bensdorp and Korff have been kind enough
to grant the use of their archives and industrial inheritance to The
Chocolate Factory.
The Chocolate Factory will be in Amsterdam, which is the world’s
leading cocoa harbor. This unique location connects to the historical
nature of The Chocolate Factory. Our address, De Ruyterkade 105-106
is a historical building, built in 1880, right next to Amsterdam’s
central train station and can easily be reached by public transport.
On the other side of the station is a large car park. From here it’s
just a five minute walk to The Chocolate Factory.
We hope to reward your patience very soon – but until you can
come and experience it all for yourself, do have a peek in our virtual
factory. Here you can feel the atmosphere of The Chocolate Factory,
the sweetest treat park in the world!
Have lots of chocolate fun!
Museum
In our special museum you will find items of great historical significance,
such as the actual archives of cocoa and chocolate industries like
Bensdorp and Korff. The Chocolate Factory were lucky enough to be
the recipient of these rare and historically important items.
Here you can become aware of all kinds of machines involved in the
process of chocolate production from long ago, and the masterpieces
that the chocolate was wrapped in.
The museum will have a permanent exhibition on the history of the
Dutch cocoa and chocolate industry as well as various temporary
expositions related to different themes, all connected to chocolate!
Treats
The huge entrance gates swing open... Wow! Is this for real? It
looks just like a fairytale...
The factory breathes chocolate’s history, culture and emotion.
You’ll go back in time to the year 1880, to the early days
of the Dutch cocoa and chocolate industry.
Once inside, you will discover that the mysterious factory is actually
underground. You won’t believe your eyes!
Children will receive their own wrapper in order to get access to
all the chocolate activities. They can make their own chocolate
bar or check out performances on the Chocolate Stage. They can follow
the special Adventure Tour, in which
they magically transform from a child into a cocoa bean, crawl into
the giant machines and go through the entire production process.
The machines roast, grind, cool and wrap you until they spit you
out, looking like a chocolate. Incredible!
Parents are able to see exactly in what phase of production their
child is and, of course, everything the children are going through
will be strictly supervised and safe.
Parents, grandparents, schoolteachers and other chocolate lovers,
you can do the Mystery Tour. You’ll
walk next to huge enlarged old machines and be amazed by the production
process of chocolate. In the meantime you can enjoy some of the
sweetest chocolates!
The factory is a sensational place full of unforgettable pleasure
and excitement, but there is also a lot to learn! When you take
the Educational Tour you will learn
all there is to know about the different kinds of cocoa beans –
how they grow, how to harvest them, and the entire industrial process.
You’ll walk through our tropical greenhouse where you will
experience firsthand the atmosphere of the colonial plantation from
over a century ago. At the end of this Educational Tour you will
be able to make your own chocolate.
But there is more to a Chocolate Factory than the production floor
with enormous pitching and grinding machines. In The Chocolate Factory
you can also visit our Chocolate Shop or take a break in The Chocolate
Canteen.
Some of the treats:
The Elevator
The Magical Elevator where nothing is what it seems. Going up might
be going down and a minute seems to last forever. You will be surrounded
by chocolate smoke and rush into nothing from where you will actually
see it all.
Everything you experience is not really happening to you. This has
to be experienced to be believed!
The Production Floor
This is the heart of the factory, where the three different tours
start. It’s filled with shiny copper machines, huffing and
puffing and steaming with activity. The machines are placed in the
exact position for the production process, on different floors which
can be reached by elevator.
The Chocolate Fountain
Pour your own hot or cold chocolate from the sky-high fountain...
Need I say more?
Tropical greenhouse
Take a walk through the greenhouse and experience the jungle, the
cocoa plantations, the circumstances of the farmers and the good
life in the colonial mansions.
The Chocolate Store
The best assorted chocolate store in Europe, with Chocolate Factory
products and high quality chocolate from all over the world.
Laboratory
Accompanied bij a professional chocolatier you can make your own
chocolate. Every combination is possible with your favourite ingredients
and flavours, mmm, and this delicious smell...
Canteen – Restaurant
Like any other factory, The Chocolate Factory has a canteen. While
relaxing and enjoying a drink or lunch. Let our menu seduce you
and enjoy the view on the factory hall.
In the evening the canteen transforms into a restaurant with a beautyful
illuminated view on the tropical greenhouse.
The Chocolate Bar
The place to eat and drink chocolate from all over the world. The
Chocolate Bar could be used as well for all kinds of tasting events.
Location The Chocolate Factory is
located in Amsterdam, which is the world’s leading cocoa harbor.
This unique location connects to the historical nature of The Chocolate
Factory. Our address, De Ruyterkade 105-106 is a historical building,
built in 1880.
The builing is right next to Amsterdam’s central train station
and can easily be reached by public transport. On the other side of
the station is a large car park. From here it’s just a five-
minute walk to The Chocolate Factory.
Next to the existing building you will find our museum…if you
dare, you can visit the sweetest and most beautiful chocolate factory
in the world! The factory is truly a secret, as you cannot see it
from outside. You’ll have to descend deep into the earth to
visit the hidden factory tunnel which is actually 170 meters long!
The Chocolate Factory
De Ruyterkade 105-106
1011 AB AMSTERDAM
Chocolate Friends
Support the museum
The Chocolate Factory Museum is unique in The
Netherlands and The Chocolate Factory keeps the rich history of the
Dutch cocoa- and chocolate industry alive. Everybody must be able
to enjoy the impressive process of making chocolate in the early 20th
century.
Maintaining the beautiful historical building, maintenance of collections
and composing expostitions are expensive matters.
With your appreciated support we can guarantee our historical inheritance!
Yes, I am a Chocolate Factory Friend!
As a friend you mean a lot to us. By transferring
€ 85,- per year to our bankaccount number: 41.33.75.358 ABNAmro,
Amsterdam, registered as ‘The Chocolate Factory Donation' you
will join a large group of chocolate lovers and those keen on cultural
and historical inheritance.
The Chocolate Factory thanks you for your contribution by sending
you a welcome gift and adding you to our mailing list. The Chocolate
Factory Friends Newsletter tells friends first about developments
and special events.
Trust and Sponsors
The Chocolate Factory Museum is, like all museums, dependant on sponsoring.
Does your company value keeping and maintaining the cultural and historical
inheritance of the Dutch cocoa- and chocolate industry? If you are
interested in expressing this, The Chocolate Factory provides different
ways of being an associate in sponsoring.
Being a sponsor means you can enjoy exclusive privileges. In our elegant
Cocoa Baron Club you can use our conference room with al kinds of
facilities for a meeting, seminar or congress.
We can make an inventory of mutual wishes and needs and offer each
other an appropriate cooperation.
Support through gift or legacy
One- time gift
You can support The Chocolate Factory by a one-time gift.
The Dutch Tax Office has registered The Chocolate Factory Foundation
as a museum, in which the collection is of national interest. Gifts
and Donations, whether they be large, small, given one-time only or
often, are in theory completely tax deductible. If you are obliged
to pay taxes in the Netherlands, you are eligible for this if your
donation is between a minimum of 1% and 10% of your total registered
income.
A Periodic Donation
A Periodic Donation means that you transfer a fixed sum for at least
5 years. This ensures that the museum has financial support and guarantees
the continuity of the activities of the museum. This donation is completely
tax deductible and there are no minimum or maximum amounts. A Periodic
Donation must be registerd at a notary’s office. The Chocolate
Factory is happy to arrange a notary for you and pay the notarial
costs if you prefer.
Formal Gift
This entails that one donates a sum of money toThe Chocolate Factory,
but this amount is only actually given to the Foundation upon one’s
passing. One donates the interest accumulated on this amount to the
Chocolate Factory on a yearly basis. This also needs to be registered
with a notary. The Chocolate Factory is happy to arrange a notary
for this and pay for the costs involved in this transaction.Donation
via a Will
More and more people are arranging their wills and final wishes via
a notary. You can also formally register a cause that you personally
support, for example The Chocolate Factory, as part of your will.
This can be done in two ways.
Bequest
You can register a bequest in your will. The museum would , after
your passing, receive a donation which has already been determined
by your wishes. The size of the bequest would be dependant upon the
total amount of the inheritance.
Inheritance
You can list The Chocolate Factory Museum as one of your inheritors.
This means that our foundation would receive part of the inheritance,
along with the other inheritors. The size of the inheritance would
be dependant upon the total amount of the inheritance and the number
of other inheritors.
Would you like more information?
If you are interested in making a donation, or would like some more
information, we would be pleased to discuss all the possiblities with
you. Don’t hesitate to reach us at (020) 420 07 72 or send us
an e-mail: stichting@dechocoladefabriek.nl.
