Karel Peeters and his wife Christiane started their business in 1970 in Baasrode.
At first as a bakery which by 1980 had grown into one of the five biggest in Belgium, producing 9000 loaves of bread per night. They supplied baker's shops, hospitals and rest homes. However, by that time the first signs of a significant decrease in the consumption of bread could already be noticed.

In 1983 a separate section for the making of chocolate is set up, aiming at the production of Special, exclusive and top quality products.
Only the finest natural ingredients are being used, all chocolate articles are handmade, making use of traditional manufacturing methods. While the sales of the bakery kept going down, the sales of the chocolate division kept going up.

In 1992 Karel was asked by Harrods in London to develop an entirely new assortment of pralines, going by the name of Harrods. This was the beginning of a huge growth in London.

On May 22nd 1996 the premises in Baasrode were destroyed in a fire. Only 10 days later an emergency production was set up, ensuring the continuation. In the mean time the rebuilding had already been started, but this time only in function of the chocolate production. In August 1996 the new workrooms were put into use.

Today Chantelly employs about 20 chocolate workers who have mainly been recruited at the Chocolate Academy in Antwerp. On the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary a giant chocolate eel of 920 kg was made . Good enough to be registered in the Guiness Book of Records as the world's largest praline.