OUR STORY
a family business that has been around for 75 years
Delrey's Story
The shiny display case contains all kinds of colorful treats: from beautiful cakes, for big and small sweet tooths, to a wide range of cookies, frivolous macaroons and delicious pralines.
They do not appear out of nowhere, because behind the shop lies a maze of corridors, rooms and floors. There, behind closed doors, it buzzes with activity.
Welcome to our magical world
Thanks to our organic growth over the years, there is a lot of work going on in different corners and spread over three floors. Everyone has their post, because delicacies require a tight organization.
On the ground floor, it smells deliciously of cookies. No wonder, because we bake them fresh every day and finish them à la minute, because each cookie variety may only be in the shop for two days. 'Fresh' is not an empty word for us.
Far away from the flower, because flower can float through the air and end up in the chocolate and start a fermentation, on the first floor the chocolate flows through the soaking machine. Ready to be molded into unique praline shapes. And in the basement, chocolate and biscuits come together to create breathtaking cakes.
Jaren 40
Vrouwen aan de macht
In de jaren 40 richt een notoire zakenman, nu enkel nog maar bekend als de mysterieuze heer Faustin, zijn zeven praline- en wafelwinkels in en rond Antwerpen ten gronde door wangedrag. Zijn pientere en creatieve echtgenote Adèle Raymaekers was natuurlijk niet van gisteren en had haar voorbereidingen getroffen. Ze wijst haar nietsnut van een man de achterdeur en laat de chef van het atelier, Omer Plaetevoet, binnentreden langs de grote poort. Meer bepaald van het praline winkeltje in de Appelmansstraat 5, waar Adèle altijd met veel liefde achter de verkooptoog stond.
1953
Royal name
Adèle has a good business instinct and an eye for marketing. She first renamed the praline shop Maison Ray in 1949 , after her own name. To give the shop the necessary allure, she went a step further. Maison Ray became DelReY in 1953 , as if the shop belonged to the king himself. Thanks to her earlier training as a hat designer, Adèle knows better than anyone how important aesthetics are. Praline shop DelReY soon excels with its beautiful packaging.
1965
New owners
7 years later, in 1960, Arnout Marchand starts working as a chocolatier at DelReY. He doesn't stay long because he wants to perfect his chocolate knowledge in Switzerland . However, the Antwerp shop is close to his heart and when he hears in 1965 that the business is up for sale, he and his wife Rita Carette don't hesitate for a second. At that time, the business had 16 employees.
1974
Purchasing desire
In 1974, the couple sees their chance to buy both the building at Appelmansstraat 5 and the one at Vestingstraat 2. This also allows them to finally do a major renovation . A year later, Bernard Proot , a baker-patissier, arrives, who helps Arnout in the studio during the winter months. In the summer, Bernard returns to his hometown of Ostend to enjoy the high season at various bakeries and patissiers on the coast.
Bernard proot
°1954
Trained as a baker, pastry chef and chocolatier at Ter Groene Poorte in Bruges
He gained his first experience in his parents' bakery in his hometown of Ostend and further immersed himself in pastry making at Wittamer in Brussels and Lenôtre in Paris.
Together with his wife Anne , he took over DelRey in 1983. He always felt good in Antwerp: “Just as the view of the Mercator makes me feel at home in Ostend, I have the same feeling when I drive through the Bolivar Tunnel.”
As the manager, he makes every final decision after consultation with the team. He still bakes and sculpts in the studio.
Anne Seutin
°1961
She learns all the tricks of the pastry trade from her husband Bernard.
Her parents are also entrepreneurs and, in addition to a cosmetics store, they also had their own bakery in Heist-op-den-Berg , where Bernard worked for a while and Anne and Bernard met each other.
After taking over together with Bernard DelRey, the couple have four children : Stéphanie (°1982), Emilie (°1984), Jan (°1985) and Julie (°1987) Anne is responsible for the shop, sales and the tearoom .
Jan Proot
°1985
He has been helping out in the studio since he was 12. If his report was bad, he had to do the dishes.
Jan first followed a marketing course before Bernard allowed him to start as a pastry chef in 2008
at DelRey. In the meantime, he is also doing an internship and is doing various
work experience with fellow pastry chefs. At DelReY he has the best mentor in Gunther Van Essche.
In 2018, Jan passed the Relais entrance exam
Desserts International . This is a professional organisation that unites the biggest names in pastry. A hundred pastry chefs of 15 different nationalities together form the top of the world.
In 2023, Jan took over operational management from his father, who retained ultimate responsibility for the family business.
Since 2022, Jan has been co-manager of DelReY.
Julie Proot
°1987
Just like her brother, she has been helping out in the business since childhood.
Julie would love to work at DelRey, but her parents want her to first get a diploma and gain work experience elsewhere.
In 2015 she was finally allowed to join the family business.
Julie is super complementary with her
brother, because she is interested in everything that concerns "the non-operational". She maintains customer relations , takes care of communication and marketing ; follows up on the accounting, deliveries and personnel ; is
responsible for sales in Japan , the webshop
etc.
Since 2022, Julie has been co-manager of DelReY.
Gunther Van Essche
°1965
In 1995 Bernard decided that the bar could be raised even higher and wanted someone of the same level who could help him raise it. He chose top pastry chef Gunther Van Essche for this. After winning almost every competition that could be won in Belgium, Gunther won the biennial World Pastry Cup (Coupe du monde) in Lyon, the “pastry world cup” so to speak, for the first and only time in Belgian history in 1995. This is the highest good you can achieve as a pastry chef.
Gunther joins the team and when Jan is allowed to join the business in 2008, he takes him under his wing to teach him all the tricks of the trade. Gunther creates beautiful creations and has been a great pillar of support since his arrival and
sparring partner , first of Bernard, later also of Jan.
Our team
But above all, DelReY is teamwork . Without our 20-person team, we would not be where we are today. And if that sounds cliché, that is simply because it is true. Each of them has his or her talent and expertise that we at DelReY like to fully express and develop.
We are proud of each of them for wanting to be part of the
driving force behind our family brand.
DELREY's TOEKOMSt
Momenteel denken Bernard en Anne nog lang niet aan hun pensioen. Dat lijkt hen de absolute hel, want hun job doen ze nog veel te graag. Ze staan allebei niet graag op een podium omdat hen dat onwennig maakt, maar fier zijn ze wel. Op wat ze doen en op hoe blij ze hun klanten maken. Het bezorgt Anne een immens plezier om klanten terug te zien keren naar de winkel. Bernard maak je dan weer blij met een opgeruimd atelier: “Pas als alles aan de kant is, ben ik content.”
Intussen is de zoete microbe ook overgeslagen op de twee jongste kinderen: Jan en Julie. Gelukkig voor Anne: “Ik zou het verschrikkelijk vinden mocht onze zaak in vreemde handen komen. Het is een beetje mijn 5de kind, ik verdedig het even fel. Dan zou ik liever in schoonheid stoppen.”
Maar dat is niet aan de orde. Jan creëert even graag als zijn vader en doet niets liever dan mensen blij maken met gebakjes en chocolade.
Het fijne aan een familiebedrijf is dat er heel nauw en met veel liefde gewerkt wordt aan een gezamenlijk doel. Hierdoor staan we ook dichter bij onze klant, waardoor we elk obstakel op een minimum van tijd proberen op te lossen. Iedereen kan ook ongelooflijk goed met elkaar overweg en doet er alles aan om een goed team te vormen. Maar af en toe durft het natuurlijk al eens te kletteren. Tussen Bernard en dochter Julie dan vooral. “We zijn een beetje hetzelfde”, lacht Bernard daarover. “We zeggen altijd wat we willen zeggen en dat geeft soms al eens lawaai.” Maar daar is Julie het dan weer niet helemaal mee eens: “Wij maken toch nooit ruzie? Wij praten gewoon luid.”
Die jovialiteit voelt ook het team aan. Op de werkvloer worden Bernard en Anne dan wel aangesproken met meneer en mevrouw, eens buiten wordt iedereen bij de voornaam genoemd. “Laat meneer maar vallen. Ik drink niet graag een pint met iemand die dat tegen me zegt”, knipoogt Bernard.