The Laboratory

The shop we work in is called "the laboratory". It sounds like we conduct all kinds of strange experiments inside, but really we just bake bread and make pastries. This is a picture of the entrance to the Lab. All the vans are decorated in the same way.

The people I work with are great. I have come to the conclusion that in order to be male and work in pastry you must be mentally insane. Keep in mind that I mean this in the nicest way possible. I believe this because every pastry man I have worked with was crazy. Yes, Russull, you are definitley included in this. It is fun when they are crazy, because it makes work that much more fun, which is always a plus.

This is one of the crazy guys I work with, Oliviér, holding one of his creations. Its a birthday cake with the Swiss flag on it. He wouldn't care that I called him crazy. I do it every day at work. He knows he is crazy. And you can kind of see how big the kitchen is in this picture. It is absolutely massive.



These are some of the chocolate mousse cakes we make. I got to make the chocolate decoration around the sides of the cake one day. You can't tell in the picture but "Wolfisberg" is written on the chocolate. It looks really cool.

Another interesting thing about my job is that we all, the boss included, drink on the clock. Let me explain. Three times in the six weeks I have been here we have all stopped work and had a glass of champagne. This is generally to celebrate a birthday or wish somebody good luck who is leaving. Maybe we will have champagne when I leave.

The first time this happened I was so surprised. I am still surprised when it happens. Never in an American kitchen would we all stop work and have a drink. Ocassionally after work at PieBar the chef would give us a beer, but that was always off the clock. I love Europe.