Boost your sales and creativity all year round

Editorial

With each new season come new opportunities. Valrhona is here to help you fill your year with wonderful moments that make food a truly emotional experience, using everything from aromatic herbs to superfoods and seasonal produce.

The changing of the seasons offers you the chance to switch up your range, refresh your work and show off the quality of your products, all in perfect harmony with nature’s own rhythms.

In this booklet, you will find seasonal recipes from L’École Valrhona’s pastry chefs, as well as tips and advice you can use to liven up your store, boost your sales and reawaken your creativity.

From springtime buds to the summer sun, fall colors to cold wintery air, inspiration can be found everywhere, so open your eyes to the natural world and get creating!

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Seasonal recipes

In spring, bring nature back to life

Spring is the season of renewal, so add some aromatic herbs to your recipes and make your store blossom with flowery decorations.

1. Experiment with aromatic herbs and flowery flavors

Confound customers’ expectations by flavoring your recipes with herbs.

  • Mint has a refreshing taste that will bring out the best in your sweet or savory dishes.
  • Basil is great for digestion and an Italian cuisine icon.
  • Thyme has a powerful flavor and it is an essential part of any bouquet garni.
  • Rosemary has detoxing properties and it will add real zing to your desserts!

2 . Deck your store and packaging with blossoms

  • Opt for floral decorations and springtime accessories.
  • Dress up your packaging in flowers or leaves.

DIY - Tutorial: Flower garland
Make your own flower garland:
› Cut a piece of wire big enough to go around your head
› Make mini bouquets of flowers and use some floral tape to fix them around your wire

3 . Encourage your customers in

  • Rearrange your store
    Give customers somewhere to tuck into a quick lunch, such as a high table, a terrace or some space near your window. Install a salad bar where customers can create their own dishes out of seasonal ingredients and combine gourmet dining with quality produce.
  • Offer a set menu for gourmet picnics
    An example would be a duck breast and blue cheese sandwich or salad with a raspberry and verbena-flavored sweet snack and your customer’s choice of drink.
  • Adapt your ranges to the season
    Experiment with colorful packaging, mini customized cards you can hand out, or some self-service violet-flavored lemonade.

In summer, create a vitamin extravaganza

Summertime is an opportunity to opt for quality ingredients that are not only chock-full of vitamins, but locally sourced too. These are great for both our health and the environment, so encourage your customers to give their bodies a boost that will keep them feeling peachy all year round!

1. First and foremost choose your ingredients wisely

  • Give seasonal fruit pride of place: From melons to apricots, strawberries, plums, figs and peaches, the finest fruits are practically on your doorstep, so make sure you source locally.
  • Go for superfoods: Superfoods are super-nutritious ingredients. Instagram is awash with super-fruits, superseaweeds and super-berries.

2. Bring some sunshine into your store

  • Display fruit in your store to create a zingy ambiance.
  • Wicker and splashes of golden color create a real vacation vibe.
  • Let customers help themselves to a refreshing summer drink as they tuck into a set menu or dine à la carte.

DIY - Tutorial: Colorful packaging
› Cut some colored paper into a decorative shape.
› Cut a hole into your shape and weave a ribbon or some raffia through it.
› Wrap the ribbon and your chosen summery decoration around your product’s packaging.

3. Organize customer events

  • Aperitif time: Create original, seasonal aperitifs for your customers to relish.
    - Cherry tomato and chocolate appetizers sprinkled with sesame and poppy seeds.
    - Avocado juice with a pinch of chocolate.
  • Picnic boxes: Think up new picnic box combinations to go with your aperitifs and make them extra-delicious. Go for assortments of quick, handy nibbles.
    - Chocolate bars or chocolate candy spiced with chili, ginger, allspice and so on.
    - Cheese platter with chocolate-coated fruit & nuts (hazelnuts, figs and apricot).

Rediscover colors and flavors of the fall

When fall comes around, introduce your customers to new flavors with sweet and savory combinations of seasonal produce such as squashes, pumpkins, walnuts and hazelnuts.

1. Play with flavors

  • Pair seasonal vegetables with chocolate: Grilled chicken suprême with sweet potato dauphinoise and Xocopili sauce.
  • Choose chestnuts, the season’s star ingredient: Ground chestnut fingers with iced chestnut pieces.
  • Experiment with artisanal autumnal preserves: Chestnut chutney, fig and cinnamon jelly.

2. Bring the beauty of fall into your store

  • Play around with dried flowers
  • Smoked glass vases create beautiful effects when they catch the light.
  • Deck your store out with lanterns to create a warm atmosphere.

DIY - Tutorial : Fall forest jars
› You will need a glass jar, a candle, acorns, wire and a pair of cutters.
› Put the candle and acorns in the base of the jar.
› Wind together a piece of wire and wrap it around the neck of the jar so you can hang it up

3. It's back-to-school time, so don't forget the kids

  • Create a snack time menu: Seasonal fruit compote with hot chocolate and chocolate fingers.
  • Organize workshops for kids and their parents: Set up profit-making workshops where you can give your customers a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what you do, show off your skills, and boost your clientèle’s loyalty.
    - Mini ghost-shaped meringues.
    - Sweetened bread rolls with ground chestnut

In winter, make coziness your priority

Come wintertime, the chilly weather makes warming, gourmet products irresistible. Give your customers the chance to enjoy some cozy comfort around the dinner table or fireplace.

1 . Indulge our urge for comfort food

  • What is comfort food exactly? Comfort food fills you up and makes you feel good. At this time of year, consumers are attracted to food that reminds them of their childhood and dishes that taste good as well as boosting their mood.
  • Revisit childhood favorites: Showcase the recipes you loved as a child, such as truffle-flavored grilled cheese sandwiches with ham, baked fruit tarts, and gourmet pain perdu.

2. A cosy space makes for more convivial atmosphere

  • Fur, wood and muted, light colors.
  • Play around with string lights.

DIY - Tutorial : Sparkling star
› Find 5 pieces of natural-looking wood.
› Use some twine to bind them together into a star shape.
› Wrap a string light around the edges of the star.

3 . Create a cozy, homely ambiance

  • Offer your customers set menus
    › Snack Time: A steaming homemade hot chocolate with a slice of apple pie just like grandmother made!
    › Lunch: Gratin dauphinois and a chocolate and marshmallow melt-in-the-middle cake.
  • Invite your customers out onto the terrace: When the cold weather starts to bite, adapt your outside seating to include soft blankets, lots of comfy cushions and a relaxing winter playlist and give your customers a gorgeous experience.
  • Add some spicy heat to your recipes: Add a subtly warming touch to your products by giving them a dash of seasonal spice. Your customers will love the scented wintery notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom.

Professionals, find more step-by-step recipes on the online Essentials

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