issue 1 2017

32
ingredients
Sweet Temptation
Hundreds of people stroll down Rue de Lévis on this early afternoon in November, past the
chocolatiers displaying their candied wares in beautifully decorated windows, past little artisan
bakeries selling crispy baguettes and enticing croissants, past a butcher offering juicy spring
chickens and steaks in its refrigerated display cases. The shoppers in Paris’s 17th arrondissement
carry small paper bags or cardboard boxes. They have bought something special to eat later, maybe
to enjoy this afternoon during their coffee break or this evening with family or friends.
Two women are also out on this
street of delicacies, of which there
are dozens of in the French capital.
The two Symrise employees stroll
down the street, peeking in store
windows, trying something here,
something there. They’re not here
on personal business, though. “We
like to come here for inspiration,”
says the first, who processes
flavours in varied materials such
as milk, ice cream, yoghurt, fruit
preparations and creams in the lab
as an Application Technologist.
“We often find new trends in the
stores and restaurants,” her
colleague, who works in
Marketing, adds. “That’s very
important for us in order to
develop new products that people
around the world want to
experience.”
The two French women are part of
a large team working on dairy
products in Paris. In a type of large
cycle, they develop new flavours
based on culinary models working
with flavourists, application
technologists and sensory experts
as well as with the help of market
and trend studies. These flavours
are then put to use by food
manufacturers in their products.
Enjoying meringues
Today the two make a particularly
long stop in a shop run by Benoit
Bardon. The 49-year-old opened
his store very recently with a new
concept: He makes cakes with a
meringue base – a sweet mixture
of egg whites beat until they
become stiff and powdered sugar,
which is baked in the oven at
100 degrees Celsius for one to
three hours. The cakes are crispy
on the outside, soft on the inside
and topped with unsweetened
whipped cream and fruit. “A
beautifully balanced dessert,” the
women agree. They speak for a
while with the shop’s founder, who
used to work in the
communications department of an
energy company, and ask him
about background, preparation
methods and selection of raw
materials. Benoit Bardon speaks
openly, for example, about how his
wife discovered the recipe and
then made it again and again.
“Everyone who tried it once
wanted to have it again,” he
recalls with a smile. “So we
basically had to make a business
out of it.” Late that afternoon, the
two Symrise colleagues head back
to the lab. They’ve bought
meringue cake and are looking
forward to sharing their discovery
with two other colleagues. The
four of them are gathered in the
testing room the next morning,
carefully cutting the little cakes
into pieces. With white plastic
spoons, they try the pastry, talk
www.foodmagazine.eu.com issue one | 2017