Interview: Jonathan Szymkowiak and his love for Luxembourg products

“Why wander far when what’s good is so close?”

– Johann Wolfgang Goethe

For his culinary creations, Jonathan Szymkowiak (41), pastry chef at Kaempff-Kohler since 2012, favors Luxembourg products.

Kaempff-Kohler takes pride in its Luxembourg authenticity. It all began in 1922 with the pastry shop, which still holds an important place in the very wide culinary offering, but the traditional house is particularly distinguished by the omnipresence of Luxembourg raw materials in the production processes.

It’s a true “remembrance of things past” moment. When Jonathan Szymkowiak raves about his grandmother’s and mother’s mirabelle plum tart (Lorraine tradition), time fades away and an authentic, incomparable taste sensation awakens his taste buds.

“The memory of my first steps in pastry-making indeed takes me back home with my mother and grandmother and their mirabelle plum tart. They let me get my hands in the dough from a very young age. The flavor of their tarts and especially the taste of the mirabelle plums from our orchard just steps away from home remain vivid and perfectly tangible. I believe it’s this experience that inspires my love for local products and my preference for seasonal fruits.”

Will this passion be passed on? The pastry chef’s very young son seems to want to follow in his father’s footsteps. He is, moreover, a promising early sign, the first fan of the macarons created by his dad for Kaempff-Kohler.

Jonathan’s determination and passion for his craft mark his journey: an apprentice at 16 at the Becker pastry shop in Créhange, near St Avold, his destiny took him to the Bourguignon pastry shop in Metz, and then to join Franck Fresson, Meilleur Ouvrier de France, in Jarny.

In 2012, he joined Kaempff-Kohler to very quickly take over the reins of the pastry lab.

And he’s still there 12 years later.

Origins, authenticity and responsibility!

Kaempff-Kohler is proud of its Luxembourg origins and character.

This credo is embodied not only through its product range, but also through its production philosophy: choice of raw materials and suppliers guided by proximity and product quality, short supply chains and reduction of the ecological footprint… this is the challenge that Kaempff-Kohler’s artisans have set for themselves.

“The basic products used in our pastry production are from Luxembourg: dairy products and flour from Kleinbettingen go into all our creations. There are other typically Luxembourg ingredients like honey and seasonal fruits, particularly strawberries, rhubarb, plums or mirabelles”, says Jonathan Szymkowiak, not forgetting the wide variety of raw materials that are not available in Luxembourg and the Greater Region.

“Proximity is an asset for us. We can better control product quality, discuss face to face with producers and suppliers and use short supply chains.”

The pastry chef is perfectly aware of the socio-ecological challenge that currently puts humanity before necessary choices. Current climate upheavals impact agricultural and fruit products in terms of quantity, quality and certainly price:

“I am very grateful to Kaempff-Kohler’s management for their determination to maintain at all costs the quality level of our products, in this complicated environment,” he says.

And creativity?

Does this constraining situation hinder the chef’s creative development?

While it’s true that in general new challenges foster creativity and make one inventive, one can never do well without a certain rigor and good organization.

“Personal reflection, intuitive perception of the potential taste generated by flavor combinations, love and good knowledge of the materials to work with, are at the origin of my creative process,” explains Jonathan, who then talks about test tastings, first alone and then with his work colleagues, his wife who always gives very good advice, and trusted people in his circle.

” Beyond that, there are of course regular training sessions with various Meilleurs Ouvriers de France or at Valrhona, the chocolate sanctuary. I would also like to mention Les Sucrés du Lux, our club that brings together about twenty pastry chefs from Luxembourg and the Greater Region. It’s the perfect place to exchange ideas, generate new concepts and promote our craft,” emphasizes the chef who is eager to return to his pastry lab…

… a fulfilled man, who loves what he does in a pleasant professional environment. He gives it his all – you only have to taste his desserts to realize it.