When I was told that I would be going to Japan to find out how Chateraise makes its popular pastries, I did not expect to be plucking fruits under a flyover.
And as it turns out, it’s possible that some of these white peaches might find their way to Singapore outlets – directly air-flown by Chateraise less than 72 hours after being harvested. That was made very clear during my three-day whirlwind trip to find out how they make their popular pastries, as we went to factories, hotels, forests and yes, even a farm under a flyover.
“This allows us to procure better ingredients with better conditions, mutually benefitting the farmers as they need not negotiate pricing, while their stable income is assured.”A flowchart visualising Chateraise's farm factory concept. Yamanashi Prefecture, where I toured, is a three-hour’s drive from Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport. Surrounded by mountains in all directions and located northwest of Mount Fuji, this was where the Chateraise story began.
There, I was served a glistening dollop of red bean paste made from fresh red beans grown in Tokachi, Hokkaido, as part of a taste test. It was not as sweet as I had imagined it to be – the sugar did not overpower the taste of the red bean.A small plate of red bean paste served at Chateraise's Hakushu factory.
To make their red bean paste and ice cream, Chateraise also has one unassuming but pretty important ingredient – water. We were brought to another place that was decidedly less romantic-looking – there was no lush greenery surrounding the Toyotomi farm factory, which seemed like a typical factory building that was painted in Chateraise’s reddish-brown colour.Exploring the facility in full head-to-toe protective gear to keep the inside environment as sterile as possible, I saw others similarly dressed as they went about their work.
It was in factories like this where sponge cakes are shipped to places like Singapore. Once they’re made, these cakes are then blast frozen before being sent off to outlets overseas, where the finishing touches are made and the treats are decorated with more cream and air-flown fruits.Workers in wrapping seaweed around a Japanese confectionery in Chateraise Toyomi factory. To be honest, I had only anticipated visiting farms, factories and maybe some stores on this trip.
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