Easter and chocolate treasure hunts are memories of childhood ... why
not pair them with tea to give them a new dimension? The two pair so well
together! With fine teas, not just any chocolate will do. Who better to
introduce this gourmet alliance than Nadège Bonzon and Patrick Bovon, also known as the famous Duo Creatif from La Tour-de-Peilz? The
words of these experts in fine pastry and chocolate are like their creations,
to be indulged in!

How did the Duo Créatif adventure start ?
We created Le Duo Créatif in 2014 at a very small boutique located in Chailly sur Montreux. It was with the help of our parents, an apprentice and then an employee that we have been able to expand our business. After three years spent in this pretty village, we were starting to need more space. In 2017, we had the opportunity to take over the "Freddy" pastry shop in La Tour-de-Peilz. This allowed us room to grow and today we have 20 employees!

We are the proud winners of the "Proximité" award last year at the Mérites de l'Economie Riviera-Lavaux. It was an important moment for the whole team! This award highlights the daily effort our employees make to maintain our reputation.

How do you deal with being in a relationship both in private and in your professional life?
We work as a couple, but we have our own domain. Nadège is focusing more on the front of the house with the service and the boutique. Customers love to have the owners around, so it's important to be there! Patrick is mostly in the lab, so this way we are not on top of each other 24 hours a day! If there's a need to lend a hand in the store or the lab, we're always there for each other. The advantage of having Nadège who is skilled in the art is that she has an educated eye, so she can see right away if something is not right and needs to be changed.

What are your individual strengths?
Patrick has a real expertise in pastry. He is naturally curious, likes to know new trends and new techniques from France and abroad. He is also very open-minded, and has a passion for the profession that he likes to share. With simple products he does something amazing!

Nadège has a positive attitude, a lot of energy, she has also rigour in what she does. For new ideas, we push and challenge each other, but always keeping our feet on the ground. “We bake, we don't save lives. Above all, we make people happy. "

Where does Le Duo Créatif get its inspiration?
We draw our inspiration from good products. During the good fruit season, we wonder what we can create to enhance their tastes. While out on walks we get inspired, an example is decorating ideas that stay in the back of our heads. Inspiration must be spontaneous. We also have a team of young and dynamic pastry chefs, we put them to work! We give them a common thread and we give free rein to their creativity.

What are the “signature” specialties of the Duo Créatif ?
The “Boite Gourmande”, a dessert made in a wooden box like the famous “Boîte de Vacherin”. Following the season, it is garnished with orange blossom cream and a mixture of red berries. In winter we are more on a mixture of apples and caramel. We gladly dip our spoon in it, as we would do with a good Vacherin!
We also develop chocolates by trying to stand out. Chocolate candies are one of our specialties, along with mixed nuts or fruit and tea-infused ganaches like Earl Gray and Jasmine.

And for Easter ?
We offer an Easter dessert with almond mousse, citrus confit, and guava. We also created specialty chocolate pieces. This year we have a rabbit with a large carrot and an all-chocolate Staub casserole dish with marzipan vegetables inside. It's offbeat but our customers love it! Every year with our team, we try to do new things while keeping the spirit of tradition. We make our molds ourselves to be different from others. Right now, we are already working on Mother's Day, then there will be creations for the end of the school year on the theme of the Summer holidays, and already after Christmas which represents an important part of the year.

The current sanitary crisis has spared no one. How has the past year been for you?
It was complicated having to close the tearoom. During the first wave when everyone had to stay at home, we organised a delivery service and set up daily menus. We wanted customers to be able to continue to eat good things despite the difficult situation! During the second wave, people changed their way of consuming. They ate good things less often, but paying more attention to quality and are therefore buying from artisans. This new state of mind has generated a lot of new customers for us.

What are the characteristics of a good chocolate?
There needs to be a good balance between acidity and bitterness in the mouth, not too sweet. As in wine, chocolate can have notes of fruit, wood, etc. This is what is also interesting about chocolate!

When is your favorite time to enjoy a good chocolate?
All day long, there is no time for good chocolate! It should not be abused, but when it is good, any time is good. A small square or a chocolate candy to accompany a tea for example!

For you, what is the best chocolate-tea marriage for the following teas:
Earl Grey => a dark chocolate with a lot of character
Lapsang Souchong => a dark chocolate
Jasmine Green Tea=> a softer and rounder chocolate like milk chocolate

What is your favorite tea and how do you enjoy it?
Jasmine Blossom. We like its softness, it is easily drunk all day. It is easily paired with a classic millefeuille, a good light vanilla cream and a crispy caramelised puff pastry.

Which sweet makes you get up at night?
Our chocolate, salted butter caramel and caramelised pecans tart, it can also be enjoyed with tea.

Which creation are you most proud of?
Rather than a creation that can be eaten, it is rather all the work that we do every day with a dynamic team that makes us proud. It is thanks to all our collaborators that we achieve quality ... and people line up at the entrance to the store!

Today, Le Duo Créatif is a team of 20 people. Do you have plans to grow more?
For us it is important to be present and available to manage things. Our goal is not a Duo Creatif on every corner. We prefer that people who pass in Montreux or Vevey say to themselves "what if we made a detour with Le Duo Créatif at the Tour de Peilz?".

Le Duo Creatif