At 8:30am we started our second full day in Belgium with breakfast at the Leuven Irish College. Following breakfast we attended a finance lecture with Prof. Piet Sercu of KU Leuven.   Since there are many of us who are Ag-Finance or Finance majors we found the lecture to be very beneficial. Prof. Sercu talked about topics including speculation, minimizing bid-ask spreads, futures and forward rates, and comparing spreads across currency. The presentation introduced material that was new to some, and had an interesting international twist on what others already knew from their education. Immediately following the lecture we loaded a bus and headed to Brussels!

In Brussels we experienced a different Belgian culture than the one we have been exposed to in Leuven. Brussels was more fast-faced and has a tourist environment. We were able to walk around and see the brilliant and breath taking architecture. We visited the famous statue Manneken Pis, and also enjoyed delicious Belgian waffles. After a little shopping, we loaded the bus and headed to Cote d'Or a chocolate factory owned by Kraft Foods.

After having to take a short detour we arrived at Cote d'Or.  We were first treated to a short presentation about the history of Cote d'Or and their current operations in Europe.  Our first presentation was from Mr. Paul Meues the director of the plant.  We learned that Cote d'Or was established in 1883 by Charles Neuhaus and boasts a rich history steeped in tradition.  We felt the highlight of the first presentation was Cote d'Or’s commitment to environmental protection and sustainability.  Cote d’Or is currently on schedule to meet its pledge to have all of its products certified by the Rainforest Alliance by 2012.  We felt this was a very significant initiative for Cote d’Or to undertake and because it puts them at the forefront of sustainability.

Our second presentation was by Ralph Rudolph who is a food chemist at Cote d’Or.  He gave us an overview of how Cocoa goes from the tree to the bar.  We were amazed by the complexity of processing cacao to make chocolate.  However, it wasn’t until during our tour of the plant that we truly understood what it means to make a chocolate bar.

After a warm welcome and overview of Kraft and the chocolate production, we were lucky enough to participate in a tour of the chocolate plant.  First, we all put on very fashionable disposable white "lab coats," hair nets and earplugs.  Then when we were all presentable/ready for our close up we split into two groups and headed into the plant.  Our tour guide explained how the plant is three stories tall which allows them to use gravity as much as possible.  We started our tour on the second floor where the chocolate is being refined from the big mixers on the top floor.  There were eight refining machines but they kept seven running at all times and the eighth was sitting ready to be put into rotation at any time.  After seeing this side of the chocolate plant we moved to the moulding lines where we saw the chocolate being poured into the mould and then filled.  Then we saw the machine that wrapped and boxed the chocolate to be shipped off to the consumers.  The entire plant smelled of chocolate and after the tour we couldn't wait to try some.  Kraft Cote d'Or was more than accommodating and helped us satisfy our taste for chocolate, we were happy to walk out of Kraft with a big bag filled of chocolate each.  It was so satisfying that it will definitely be a hard act to follow.