Investing in people is more important than receiving standing ovations

‘I used to have a side job at the local bakery as a cleaner. I would work on Saturdays, but during the week I could be found there as well, since they always needed extra hands. You could find me placing breads on the baking tray. I must have been 14 or 15 years old at the time. It was a typical village bakery, nothing special, but it provided my entry into the world of pastries. After finishing my high school, my parents had already concluded that there was no hope for me as a student. They didn’t want to financially invest in further schooling for me. And I strongly agreed. They suggested I combine studying with work. In this capacity, I joined my first pâtisserie. This company prepared its pastries in the classic way. During the summer, we used plenty of fresh fruits and in the fall, we worked with caramel and hazelnuts. We even made our own pralines. It was both a fantastic and a difficult time. I developed the ambition to be able to make all these products myself.’

‘There was an exchange program in which American business people took European students under their wing to teach them the ropes. I ended up working in The Hamptons near New York, a getaway for the super-rich of New York. There, I created pastries for the largest Jewish community in the USA and did my own gigs catering for events organized by Americans with a Dutch background. Once back in The Netherlands, I still needed to officially finish my education. This time, I knew what I wanted: to become a top-notch pastry chef. In the years that followed, I worked with a number of skilled chocolate makers and pastry chefs.’ 

‘During these years, I built a strong network among professionals and that led me to compete in the Dutch Pastry Awards 2009 and becoming a member of the Dutch Pastry Team, which is sponsored by Debic. The Dutch Pastry Team is a standard of excellence in the Netherlands. This led me to work with Crème de la crème and Gareau. In 2016, I started my pâtisserie Perfri. And just when we were running a nice business, COVID threatened to ruin everything. That was a difficult period. There was absolutely no work. Together with a few other professionals, I started a pop-up restaurant called The Dessert Club that was located in a tent, where customers could enjoy seven-course desserts in a tent. We created these small dishes with a remarkable appearance, like desserts that looked like steak and fries, and so on. It was a tremendous success. We served more than 10,000 customers. People had to be placed on a waiting list. We eventually started producing takeaway meals for fine-dining restaurants and hotels that were looking for desserts that were suitable for transportation and home delivery.’

‘Perfri is Latin for “complete indulgence”. And that is what we aim to create, total enjoyment for our customers. Today, we have five employees and a customer portfolio that is the envy of the industry. We cater to ten of the top twenty restaurants in The Netherlands, some of which have Michelin stars. We prefer not to brag about this. It is up to the customer to decide for themselves if they appreciate our creations. We aim to operate behind the scenes to create pastries and chocolates that people love. And since we can always do better, we also must. We want to go from an A to an A+ just because we can. We use the best ingredients available to make the most beautiful products possible. For us, this means using Debic butter. Recently, we've also added the Debic Vegan top to our tool set. Our goal is to reinvent authentic classics. What I’ve found is that customers paradoxically want to taste traditional recipes, but love to do so with a twist. This way, they get to experience both tradition and innovation, classics and originality. Well, this is right up my alley.’

‘I’m very proud that some of my people participate in championships. Marloes den Hartog won a championship last year at the Nationale kampioen brood- en banketbakken 2024 and Daan van der Lee won the prize for best bonbon in the Netherlands. Those are beautiful moments. But I’m also proud of my other employees who do not compete. They have other qualities that are important. These contests, however, do foster a team spirit. You see that special look in their eyes. They’re like: what are we making today that fills us with pride? I love that.’

‘When it comes to the health trends, we are as flexible as a door to a bank safe. As a craftsman, I don’t want to have anything to do with it. The fresher the cream, the fatter the butter, the sweeter the chocolate, the better. As a pastry chef, I am the epitome of indulgence. How could I deny the craftsman in me? But then again, I’m also a businessman. And this businessman in me is willing to go along with these trends, albeit hesitantly. I love to spoil people with the best products, but people have different demands at different times. One moment, a consumer will have a me-moment and seek indulgence, the next she is not willing to make any compromises. It may well be that her new diet is starting the next day. So I’m also able to make delicious vegan pastries, and I gladly use the vegan top of Debic for that purpose. Similarly, I now make products with less sugar or fat or with egg-replacement. There is a market for these types of products, and we go along with the growing demand. I often look to Asia because dairy products are much less in use there. Instead of butter, they use coconut oil. There is a lot to learn there.’

‘We aim to be even better ambassadors for our craft. Of course, we hope to participate in various world championships and want our company to function as a talent pool for new pastry chefs and chocolate makers that I coach to become the new pastry and chocolate masters. Ultimately, I want to invest in people and contribute with my knowledge and experience to the development of this craft. I consider that more important than receiving ovations and accolades.’