Swiss chocolatier serves up Middle Eastern flavors as ‘Dubai chocolate’ craze hits Europe

Associated Press

AACHEN, Germany (AP) — Hundreds of curious shoppers, many equipped with rain gear and folding camping stools, lined up for hours in the western German city of Aachen Thursday to get a first taste of a trendy new confection known as “Dubai chocolate.” Swiss chocolate giant Lindt has drawn the crowds with a treat mixing chocolate with Middle Eastern flavors like pistachio cream and knafeh, a crispy filo dough better known for its use in baklava. Lindt executives want to show the nearly 180-year-old Swiss chocolatier can mix it up with a product first concocted by an Emirati upstart and expand the boundaries of a centuries-old industry largely dominated by European companies. Industry bosses hope the market for chocolate worldwide will expand.