Leaving war-torn Syria, luxury chocolatier finds new home in Hungary

An employee puts dates in a Tarbush (Fez) for special gifts during the month of Ramadan at a Ghraoui chocolate shop in Damascus August 23, 2010. REUTERS/Khaled Al Hariri/File Photo

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Bassam Ghraoui's Syrian confectionary became synonymous with the finest gourmet chocolates anywhere before war decimated his business, and he is starting anew in Hungary with a factory to be launched next year.

"It is a project which will put Hungary on the map of higher-than-average EU exporters of chocolate," Ghraoui, 62, told Reuters in his downtown Budapest office with panoramic views of the ornate houses of parliament.