what do we stand for
The power of DelRey
Creativity
Today, however, we are no longer satisfied with that. Pastry has become lighter and more refined . In addition to a biscuit, the inside of a pastry must also look spectacular, preferably with a crispy crust in it, a tasty ganache around it and a decorative piece on top.
The fact that we have always played a pioneering role in this is undoubtedly due to Bernard's background at the leading patisserie Wittamer in Brussels and to the arrival of Gunther Van Essche , who has boundless creativity. But also to our membership of Relais Desserts . We constantly exchange ideas, continue to learn and thus keep our finger on the sweet pulse.
In the 80s, most cakes were decorated with lots of whipped cream and pieces of fruit. What DelRey did was different from the start. Something that people noticed. It was a new form of French pastry.
Artisanal craftsmanship
We try to work as artisanally as possible. Every biscuit, praline or cake passes our hands several times. Yet we do not shy away from modern technology .
The time when you were not allowed to use a freezer is fortunately long gone. But we also bought a hyper advanced laser device . It works so well that you can cut beautiful shapes out of chocolate very quickly and in more detail than by hand . Perfect for cutting out logos or decorating cakes.
Yet we never want to innovate for the sake of innovation, only to improve quality.
Good ingredients
The basis of a tasty product is good ingredients . For example, we only work with butter and never with margarine. The taste and the smell are unmatched. But also a lemon pie with lemons from the Italian Amalfi tastes a lot more intense than with lemons from the supermarket. We are constantly looking for something that is better than yesterday.
We try to make as much as possible ourselves , but where someone else excels, we buy in. For example, we go for a premium maker for our marzipan, but we prepare our raspberry ganache from fresh frozen raspberries with fresh herbs ourselves.
But the most important thing is of course our chocolate . We buy it directly from Barry Callebaut and Valrhona . Each company has its own types of chocolate, origins and specialties. Based on our selection, we make our own unique blend with which we create our pralines.
For our ganaches we use 20 different types of original chocolate that we mix with another ingredient that fits perfectly. Every time it is a search for the ideal match, that brings out the best in each other .
Constant quality
Creativity and craftsmanship are two important pillars at DelRey. The big challenge, however, is to find a constant in this. We do this by digitizing our recipes . All the cakes we have ever made, we can recreate exactly years later. We have been making some pralines and cookies for more than 70 years!
We record every quantity, type of ingredient and technique accurately in a program . This way we know exactly how many raw materials we need, we work approximately zero waste and the customer always gets what he or she expects .
Passion
But what unites us most of all is passion . Passion for the product and the business. We do this every day with all our attention, strength and dedication because we love doing it. Chocolate is an emotion . We want people to experience that emotion, to like our chocolate. That gives us the greatest satisfaction.