Swiss Pastry Factory

fx

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 03:18:21 GMT

Thanks Ariadna, glad you like my website!

Ariadna

Fri, 2 Jan 2009 18:50:54 GMT

Hi there, I don"t have anything very insightful to say but I do love very much your website. Buen provecho!

fx

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:43:15 GMT

Thanks Brains, I have to go back to shoot their pastry operations, but it starts at 10 at night!

Brains

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 16:30:53 GMT

Fantastic! I love COOP and this is so interesting to see. So super clean looking and looks very hands-on!

Laura C

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:51:56 GMT

Absolutely fascinating!! I worked in the pastry kitchen of a restaurant where everything was made from scratch. Never in these quantities though. Just love your site!!!!

D Walters

Tue, 20 May 2008 11:29:34 GMT

Brilliant display of how things are made in an industrial setting.

fx

Wed, 14 May 2008 16:06:42 GMT

Ivan, thanks for visiting! I am told the Napoleon is a deformation of "Neapolitan", its true origin.

Ivan

Tue, 13 May 2008 19:23:27 GMT

This is amazing! Now I can cut my Napoleons and they do not shatter-I just sneak them over to the laser guided ultrasonic knife after dark, when no one is looking!

I like that each worker has a variety in a day, and none look stressed. Thank you for such an educational and well photographed story.

fx

Sun, 11 May 2008 15:55:09 GMT

Pixen, you just can"t make 7200 Napoleons without a little organization and at least one large machine!

fx

Sun, 11 May 2008 15:48:56 GMT

Gemma, thanks and I"ll try and get a private tour of a Swiss industrial chocolate factory soon!

pixen

Sun, 11 May 2008 10:04:56 GMT

OMGoshhhhhh, this is the most technical cooking I ever seen! Hmmm... as precise as the Swiss horology.. :-D Thank you for sharing your adventure with us.

pixen

Gemma

Sat, 10 May 2008 05:13:21 GMT

Wow, yummy... those napoleons... I would"ve take some home at the end of the day myself (are they allowed to do that?) Just wanted to say, I love your blog so much, it enables me to explore the culinary world without spending any money - I really appreciate everything that you"ve done ... hrmmm.... Maybe you could go into a CHOCOLATE factory next time to see how they are made....awwwhhhh chocolatesss....

fx

Thu, 8 May 2008 15:22:23 GMT

Malika, thanks for visiting! It is totally forbidden to eat anything in the factory, not even lick your fingers, and I had to buy some of the pastry the next day at the supermarket. They taste just as they look I guess.

Malika

Wed, 7 May 2008 14:38:28 GMT

Thank you so much for showing us your visit to this amazing factory! Amazing! If I was there myself, I think I would taste everything! Did you try any of the cakes?

fx

Sun, 4 May 2008 15:25:16 GMT

Andreea, thanks for visiting! just love to visit industries and have many plans to make more food industry articles in the future.

fx

Sun, 4 May 2008 15:21:42 GMT

Cher, do not yearn too much for industrial pastry, it is never as good as you can bake in your oven at home. Even the most humble home-baked cookies will always beat industrial products. But if you don"t bake, then of course it"s nice to have a substitute!

fx

Sun, 4 May 2008 15:19:32 GMT

Gizmar, this was indeed a memorable visit and the people who run and work in this factory can definitely be proud of their job. I"ll try to post another article about the baking plant (bread only) - even more impressive I"m told!

fx

Sun, 4 May 2008 15:15:17 GMT

Don, you can see how puff pastry is made in my Kouign Aman article, it takes many hours but not as much work as people usually think. Much better than savory short dough!

fx

Sun, 4 May 2008 15:12:21 GMT

Martin, thanks for visiting and I"ll try to get you the Kirsch Gun Lady"s phone number!

andreea

Sun, 4 May 2008 14:05:08 GMT

Lovely post. I have never been in a cake factory and now got to peek. Love it. Educational and tasty :)

cher.128

Sat, 3 May 2008 17:41:44 GMT

Bravo and many thank you"s for this wonderful pastry excursion. You have gifted us!
Bravo to the many people working in the facility as well!
I live in New Jersey (United States) and if it weren"t for my skill in pastry making, I would "never" have wonderful pastry to eat and enjoy.
A blessing indeed to live where there is such pastry bounty!!!
Thank You so much again.

gizmar

Sat, 3 May 2008 01:47:47 GMT

It"s highly impressive to see not only a state of the art facility but also one that adheres so strictly to such a code of hygiene. What a pleasure. Great pictures. This must have been an incredible experience for you. I"m sure I would have been in awe the whole duration of the visit.

don siranni

Fri, 2 May 2008 16:57:42 GMT

Fx.,This article prompted me to ask if elsewhere you have a full article on how to make,at home,puff pastry-intended for meat pies?If not,could you plan one someday?Your unique photo/description would be the only way I"ll ever make it.thanks don

Martin

Fri, 2 May 2008 07:52:04 GMT

Nice article! I spontaneously fell in love with the Kirsch Gun Lady. My wildest dreams come true (not to think of the jelly gun).
My sister once worked in a factory which produced meals for airplanes. She told me that they were throwing away literally tons of food for no good reasons (except for very strict regulations on exactly when a yoghurt is still eatable and when not). I am glad to hear that they at least leave the unsellable parts to the pigs.

fx

Fri, 2 May 2008 00:43:05 GMT

Paul, the Napoleon is a high wire pastry act where you try to keep the puff pastry crispy even though it is surrounded by thick layer of pastry cream. I think the scrapings turn very fast into a spongy mess and lose all crispiness!

fx

Fri, 2 May 2008 00:40:14 GMT

Sean, I think these Napoleon-fed pigs would be fit for an Emperor.

fx

Fri, 2 May 2008 00:37:44 GMT

Lyra, your sugar mountain sounds very intriguing, if it still exists I"d love to be an ant there! Some chocolate factories sell the defective products to local students, but financially I don"t think it makes much difference since the real product is so cheap anyway, and the factory is not in a city center.

fx

Fri, 2 May 2008 00:35:31 GMT

Luci, thanks for visiting, I think this is one aspect of Swiss culture that is not often seen by tourists!

fx

Fri, 2 May 2008 00:35:02 GMT

Sebastian, thanks for your comment! These guys definitely have super clean hands and I don"t think germs of any kind find their way into the factory in sufficient quantities to pose any hygiene problem.

Paul Mckenna

Thu, 1 May 2008 16:33:58 GMT

In the UK you used to be able to buy big plastic bags of broken biscuits.
I would willingly pay for a bag of Napoleon offcuts.

I may have no class but I eat every day of the week.

Paul

Sean

Thu, 1 May 2008 11:06:21 GMT

Pork that have been fed a luxurious diet since piglets are considered to be a luxury food itself in Chinese cuisine. I wonder what napoleon-fed pigs taste like... hmm

Lyra

Thu, 1 May 2008 09:30:15 GMT

This is really fascinating as always, and I do like the new panoramic photos that you have been taking. When I was a kid in Belize I went on a tour of a sugar factory-the thing I remember best was a big old warehouse, with a 2 story pile of sugar on the concrete floor. You could just see it through a crack in the doors (which were chained shut). Through that crack marched a tiny column of ants. I imagine those were the happiest ants in the world. It smelled like molasses and burnt sugar for a mile around the factory-very Willy Wonka! Seems like a waste to feed all that pastry to the pigs, have they ever thought of selling it cheap with some cool marketing name? The taste is just as good...they just dont have those precision edges!

Luci

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:26:49 GMT

Francois, you"ve done it again! This is such an interesting article and great insight into Swiss culture. Thank you!

Sebastian

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:32:25 GMT

Awesome stuff, Fran�ois! I especially love the quicktimeless panorama pictures!

For those concerned about all those nude hands, let it be said that actually, your hands are quite clean as far as microorganisms are concerned - especially when they"ve been properly washed and disinfected. Even in biology laboratories where contaminations and sterile techniques are an issue, gloves are mostly worn to protect your hands from the stuff you"re working with (if necessary), and not the other way around. ;)

fx

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:10:04 GMT

Daniel, tomorrow thursday is a festive day in Switzerland and I wanted to publish this article for the first day of May. Instead of waiting until tomorrow before activating it, I let you guys see the world of tomorrow - today!

fx

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:08:03 GMT

JD, there are only two traditional �clairs in France - chocolate and coffee. I recently saw a young Japanese pastry chef who set up shop in Paris and offered Japanese green tea flavored �clairs, but that is very uncommon.

Daniel Eliasson

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:00:19 GMT

This was a truly fascinating post, not least because it was actually posted tomorrow (1/5/08) according to the time stamp, or does Lake Geneva have its own time zone?

It"s also fun to note how pastries can be lost in translation, or at least altered rather drastically. A Schwarzwaldt�rta (Black Forest cake) in my native country Sweden is three layers of hazelnut dacquoise with whipped cream in between, and grated chocolate on top. Not a trace of neither cherries nor Kirschwasser (alas, there is not a trace of Kirschwasser in Sweden at all). A rather bland contraption.

JD

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:43:22 GMT

"Big Daddy, unfortunately no eating is allowed in the factory. But I am confident you can get your weight in Napoleon scrapings to take home!"
Yes, I know full well I would scoop handfuls of Napoleon scrapings into my maw like Jabba the F"n Hutt. Is it common to have the �clair"s have chocolate instead of custard filling like they do in the states or is that just something different they made that day?

fx

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:39:44 GMT

Xavier, thanks for your visit! As a student you must have had the opportunity to sample the COOP"s fine products. I just love this supermarket! Soon I"ll post another serie about their baking facility. I think it is quite inevitable that in the world there are fine, home-cooked, slow foods and also regular, more affordable, processed foods. Not everybody can wait 4 hours to do Bolognese sauce the old-fashioned way.

fx

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:36:10 GMT

Ben, people are not wearing gloves because they don"t need to. Hand hygiene is guaranteed by a curious machine at the entrance that unlocks the door only after you have placed both hands in for a thourough aspersion of disinfectant. You just cannot enter the facility unless you do that, and every time you go for a break, a fag, a snack or a visit to the loo, you need to exit the premises and go through the machine again on your way back.

fx

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:33:31 GMT

Big Daddy, unfortunately no eating is allowed in the factory. But I am confident you can get your weight in Napoleon scrapings to take home!

fx

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:29:37 GMT

Parshu, after having visited your native state of Kerala I can only share the optimistic vision of those who predict India will turn into a modern economy some day. I must say that despite appearances Indians have a very thorough and serious practice of food hygiene. It just takes different forms and the reasons people give for not sharing cups with strangers when drinking tea on the streets are caste or religion, but the practical effect is to limit contamination. Of course there is more than practical considerations behind religions and customs, but I am constantly amazed to see these Indian men juggle with liquid poured from the air into their mouth with the lips never in contact with the cups!

fx

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:25:28 GMT

Paul, I don"t think a coackroach would last more than a minute in this place, they probably have a battery of computer-operated laser beams to take them out!

fx

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:24:23 GMT

TRX, from my understanding of the word "sweat shop", it is hardly appropriate. A proper sweatshop is a cramped, ill-ventilated space where swarms of underpaid illegal immigrants toil 20 hours a day. Really nothing to do with this beautiful, state of the art factory that recalls a silicon chips manufacturing plant. People are happy to work here and their work is interesting and diverse.

Xavier

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:40:30 GMT

Nice work ! I always enjoy to see behind the curtains and have a a lot of respect for industrial food processing. Scale appart, it doesn"t seem to be that different from an artisanal bakery.
By the way, a friend of mine just make me discovered your blog and it"s a great pleasure to follow it. I like your capacity to enjoy both fine and more rustic (but stylish) food and to share it with us.

Ben

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:19:52 GMT

The lots of people aren"t wearing gloves!

The whole factory looks so clean and organised, not mad like Willy Wonka"s Chocolate Factory...

bigdady92

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:10:58 GMT

It"s a sweatshop of LOVE! Dear god I"d gorge myself for hours like a fat commie in that place.

parshu

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:38:35 GMT

Lovely combination of industry and craft. Allowing you to shoot in such a detailed manner was the strongest affirmation of their hygiene standards. By 2050 some predict India will be the third largest economy in the world. I would rather it turn into 100,000 Switzerlands like this one than become one giant-like US or China.

Paul Mckenna

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:26:14 GMT

Most impressed.
I briefly worked in a bakery in Holland that was alive with cockroaches.
This place looks outstanding.

Paul

trx

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:23:01 GMT

Sweatshop!