Isabella Mueller (crime writer) 
Bruges, the romantic capital of the Belgian province of West Flanders, is regarded as the ultimate chocolate city. In the historic old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, there are over 50 chocolate shops, and once a year the ‘Bruges in Choc’ chocolate festival takes place there, where members of the ‘Guild of Bruges Chocolatiers’ present their latest chocolate creations. One of the best-known chocolate specialities is the “Brugsche Swaentje”, a white chocolate praline filled with salted caramel and shaped like a swan, which has been Bruges’ official city praline since January 2006. Bruges is regarded as the secret capital of chocolate, having long been a land of plenty for fine delicacies. There is even a legend about one such delicacy from Bruges. However, this speciality is not chocolate, but a meat pie with that certain something. This delicacy was conjured up by the Italian confectioner Antonio Arnache, who lived in Bruges. His pies were so legendary that even Duchess Mary of Burgundy craved them. Her personal chef was so jealous of the confectioner that he even asked him for his recipe, allegedly at the duchess’s behest. But Arnache did not reveal the exact recipe to anyone, which caused the duchess’s chef many sleepless nights. The Duchess was an enthusiastic huntress who had invited the famous Italian falconer Orlandini to Bruges. She had ordered hunting falcons from him and wanted to go hunting with him. But he failed to turn up for their appointment, which made the Duchess suspicious. So she sent her servants out to look for him. But there was no trace of Orlandini. It was only a beggar sitting outside St Donaas’s Church who provided the crucial clue as to Orlandini’s whereabouts. He had seen Orlandini enter Arnache’s confectionery shop. The sheriff of Bruges set off for the confectioner’s and searched the entire house for the Italian falconer. Whilst searching, the sheriff discovered a trapdoor in the floor of the hall. He asked Arnache to open it. However, Arnache refused vehemently, so the sheriff had the trapdoor forced open. A servant climbed down the stairs and shortly afterwards he was heard screaming loudly. The sheriff rushed downstairs and saw Orlandini’s mutilated body lying on the worktop. Further investigations revealed several bodies, mostly of women. Arnache turned out to be a serial killer who had murdered scores of people. He had his victims dropped through a trapdoor located in the shop. He then cut out the flesh, which he used for his pies, so beloved by the rich and famous. Arnache’s secret was that he used human flesh, which gave the pies their distinctive flavour. He and his wife were arrested and taken to Het Steen, the prison in Bruges, and hanged shortly afterwards on the Burgplatz. Such is the legend of the delicious pies filled with human flesh.
