CW Pastry Catalog_2021

Dufour Pastry Kitchens co-founders and co-owners, Judi Arnold and Carla Krasner, left Carnegie Hall and
classical concert management, looking for a change from promoting the careers of others. Judi was a high
energy salesperson who was also a great cook, and Carla had a flair for baking, furthered by the culinary classes
she took during a college year in France. They decided to combine their talents and rented a table in a caterer’s
kitchen where they set out to experiment with savory pastry recipes. When the caterer asked if they could
make puff pastry hors d’oeuvres for her events, the revelation that the caterer did not make everything in house
led them to discover their niche, and Dufour Pastry Kitchens was born. The name Dufour, a combination of the
French words “du” and “four”- from the oven - was a nod to the appeal of French cuisine and to the French
pastry they were perfecting.
In 1983 prepared frozen hors d’oeuvres were a rarity. Encouraged by great reactions from the chefs who tasted
their samples, Judi and Carla launched their line of creative, high quality, frozen savory pastries for the food
service trade, starting from a 900 square foot storefront in the still gritty Gansevoort Meat Market. Judi began
marketing and immediately sold the St. Regis Hotel. Other prestigious hotels soon came on board, grateful for
help with their quality banquet menus. Numerous caterers including the original Balducci’s, Bloomingdale’s
and Macy’s all sold Dufour products under their own brand.
Eventually chefs began to ask for the dough that Dufour made to encase their hors d’oeuvres. The resulting
product lines, all-butter puff pastry and pie doughs as well as assorted raw, hand-crafted tart shells became the
mainstays of the business. The complete range of Dufour products has been awarded 19 Sofi awards. The
classic puff pastry has won in both the Best Baked Good/Baking Ingredient category and in the overall category
of Best Classic. The recipe has not changed since the company’s founding: butter from an upstate New York
dairy, flour, water, salt, and lemon juice with an over 50% butter to flour ratio. Four traditional book-fold turns
produce the perfect flaky pastry.
Dufour Pastry Kitchens now operates from a modern facility in the Bronx, not far from Chefs’ Warehouse.
100% women owned, the employees are over 2/3 women and 75% Bronx residents. They have been awarded
the Certificate of Merit from the Bronx Borough President for their contribution to the economic development
of the Bronx. True to their roots, the creative team at Dufour continues to develop savory and sweet pastries
while producing the best available puff pastry, pie doughs and hand-crafted tart shells to encourage creativity
and innovation in every kitchen.
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Dufourpastrykitchens.com
251 Locust Ave. Bronx, NY 10454
Tel: 718-402-8800