In the 1940s, a notorious businessman, now known only as the mysterious Mr. Faustin , destroyed his seven praline and waffle shops in and around Antwerp due to misconduct. His bright and creative wife Adèle Raymaekers was of course not born yesterday and had made her preparations. She shows her good-for-nothing husband the back door and lets the studio manager, Omer Plaetevoet, enter through the large gate. More specifically from the praline shop at Appelmansstraat 5 , where Adèle always stood behind the sales counter with great love.

Adèle has a good business instinct and an eye for marketing. She first renamed the praline shop Maison Ray in 1949 , after her own name. To give the store the necessary allure, she goes one step further. Maison Ray became DelReY in 1953 , as if the shop belonged to the king himself. Thanks to her former training as a hat designer, Adèle knows better than anyone how important aesthetics are. Praline shop DelReY quickly stands out because of its beautiful packaging.

7 years later, in 1960, Arnout Marchand started working as a chocolatier at DelReY. He won't stay long because he wants to further perfect his chocolate knowledge in Switzerland . However, the Antwerp shop is close to his heart and when he heard in 1965 that the business was to be taken over, he and his wife Rita Carette did not hesitate for a second. The business currently had 16 employees.

In 1974, the couple saw an opportunity to buy both the building at Appelmansstraat 5 and the building at Vestingstraat 2 . This means they can finally do a major renovation . A year later, Bernard Proot , a baker-pastry chef, arrives and helps Arnout in the workshop during the winter months. In the summer Bernard returns to his hometown of Ostend to experience the high season at various bakeries and pastry chefs on the coast.

While waiting for a place to become available for an internship with prestigious pastry chefs such as Lenôtre in Paris and Wittamer in Brussels, Bernard worked in Anne's parents' bakery in Heist-op-den-Berg in 1977. During the weekend, Anne helps out in the store. Sparks fly between Bernard and Anne in no time. At the age of sixteen, Anne started as a student worker at DelReY and never left.

Arnout and Rita Marchand wanted a new dynamic in their lives and the business and moved to Port Grimaud in the south of France during the summers of 1981 and 1982 to run 'DelReY, Salon de Thés, Glaces et Gaufres' . They leave the business with all responsibility during those periods to Bernard , which is an ideal training ground for him.

Arnout and Rita want to continue enjoying the good life and see Bernard and Anne as the ideal successors . In 1983, the couple seized the opportunity with two pairs of enthusiastic hands. At that moment, 12 employees work at DelReY and the business is a real 'bonbonnière' with only cookies and pralines and cakes at the weekend . Anne prepared this for Friday, because Bernard still worked at Wittamer on Fridays. Bernard taught her to bake biscuits, which he only had to finish on Saturdays. Well arranged by Bernard! From that year onwards he also expanded the range with a limited line of pastries.

After a thorough renovation, there is now more physical space to further improve the pastry offering. That year, the logo and the look & feel of the packaging will also be refreshed .

Anne notices that more and more people are still eating their 'pateeke' in the store. Just like her great example in Paris , the delicatessen shop Fauchon , she dreams of having her own tasting room . When the property two houses further down the Appelmansstraat is for sale, Bernard crawls on top of the roof. He discovers that part of the building is adjacent to that of the store. This allows the staff behind the scenes to easily move from the store to the other building. Anne's dream comes true.

In 1994, Bernard became a member of Relais Desserts, a prestigious select club of 100 pastry chefs from all over the world who come together to exchange ideas . This way, as a pastry chef, you always stay informed of the latest developments. To become a member, you must first be nominated by two current members. Bernard's godfathers are none other than his former boss Paul Wittamer and the French top pastry chef Marc Debailleul. But that alone is not enough, afterwards the case is also subjected to critical visits. But DelReY passes the test with flying colors. To this day , Bernard and Jan Proot are the only Flemish members who are members .

Finally, the adjacent house next to the shop is also for sale (number 7). This allows the store to be expanded and ice cream and even more pastries can be made. In the meantime, the tearoom's menu also features savory dishes and you can also have a nice lunch there.

Bernard wants to raise the bar even higher and wants someone of high quality who can push him further. This is how Gunther Van Essche comes on board as head of DelReY . And whether it is a winner. That year, Gunther , together with chocolatier Pierre Marcolini and pastry chef Rik Debaere, won the biennial World Pastry Cup in Lyon for the first and only time in Belgian history, the highest achievement you can achieve as a pastry chef.

Bernard and Anne go to Japan for the first time. They have been invited by a local contact to open a possible store in the land of the rising sun. The Japanese love our Belgian chocolate and love high-quality luxury. It could be a match, but the time is not yet right. The seed still needs to germinate a bit.

Finally, in 2000, the adjacent building in Vestingstraat was purchased so that DelRey can continue to grow even further.

The diamond shape is invented by Bernard, the flavors become
perfected by chef Gunther van Essche.

Bernard and Anne felt that this form of praline could not be missing from DelReY's wide praline range because the shop and studio have been located in the middle of Antwerp's diamond district since the founding of DelReY.

We now have three stores in Japan , two in Tokyo and one in Fukuoka. The store in the Ginza district in Tokyo was even visited by the then Prince Philippe , now King Philippe, during the Belgian trade mission in 2005. Especially during Valentine's Day , it is all hands on deck for Japan. Then no fewer than three to four containers full of chocolates and pralines are shipped to the Far East. Japanese women give their loved ones chocolate en masse, even their male colleagues. A month later on March 14, on White Day , it is up to Japanese men to spoil their partners with chocolate.

In 2007 DelReY wins the Antwerp Springbok . This prize is awarded by the province of Antwerp for the most creative growth company.

Son Jan joins the business as a pastry chef . He wanted to start earlier, but Bernard encouraged him to study marketing first. The blood flows where it cannot go and Jan starts in our artisanal company.

In parallel , a new range of pralines will follow, such as the Antwerp Fashion and Secret Garden collections. The size of the current pralines will be reduced and macarons will be included in the range. An idea that came over from Paris and to which customers responded with great enthusiasm. Not to mention the spectacular American wedding cakes .

Time is ticking and Bernard and Anne are itching to completely renovate and connect the shop and lounge . After 60 years, DelReY is ready for a new chapter in his oh-so-fascinating story.

The house of trust is not expanding further with its own stores, but with sales points in other stores with like-minded souls , such as The Butcher's Store in Hove and Patisserie Peeters in Lier.

View all DelRey points of sale

In 2015, the youngest member of the family could no longer contain her desire to start at DelReY. Julie quits her job and delves into the business side of DelReY.

After his entrance test, Jan also joins Relais Desserts.

The store in Tokyo was completely renovated.

Son Jan takes care of the operational side.

The diamond chocolates will receive new packaging. This is accompanied by many new flavors. As well as the 20 millionth diamond praline that is produced and eaten.

coming soon

DelReY is buzzing with ideas every day. We are not standing still and have many plans for the future. Check back regularly for more news.