On Tuesday 20 October 2015, Cactus supermarket presented hand-crafted artisanal products from its cold cuts, delicatessen shop, roast and confectionery ranges at the De Schnékert Traiteur in Capellen.

The supermarket's 'Hausgemaacht' production line dates back to 1930, when the first Leesch coffee roasting establishment was set up on Rue de Strasbourg in Luxembourg. Since then, various butcher's, bakeries and other specialists have been created, including the cookery workshop at De Schnékert Traiteur, to provide fresh, homemade goods to customers. Four gastronomic domains contribute to a daily production which seeks to retain quality through each step of the process.

De Schnékert Traiteur Caterers

The 80 staff at De Schnékert Traiteur in WIndhof are headed by young French chef Christian Zabee. Whilst De Schnékert creates a range of fresh products for its 'Hausgemaacht' line, including regional specialities such as terrines, quiches, seasonal soups and fish dishes and wolrd dishes such as Asian specialties and Italian pasta, its best sellers are Luxembourg-style herring fillets at 450,000 fillets sold a year; salmon paté with Riseling at 100,000 units annually; and risotto with scallops at 40,000 containers sold per year.

Chef Zambee presented the two dishes of scampi ravioli in red curry and lemon sole stuffed lobster sauce, fettucine tartufo. The former contains specially selected scampi and with its harmonious Asian flavours which Michel Gallo, head of the fishmonger's, stated was reflective of current trends in the younger market, which for the moment has shown great interest in Asian style cuisine. De Schnékert attempts to follow theses trends in its more or less 40 products, whilst remaining relatively consistent in its offers. A new product is given around six months in which consumer interest in it is assessed.

The fettucine tartufo in lobster sauce was specially developed at De Schnékert caterers for the Christmas and New Year seasonal period. Through a delicate technical process, the lemon sole is rolle in otself after being stuffed with a fine white fish mousse. The dish is then enriched with scampi and homemade fettucino tartufo and flavoured with truffles and a lobster sauce.

Meats

In total, 145 employees work daily under head chef Roy Raasch in the cold cuts section of the 'Hausgemaacht' range to produce 15 tonnes of product weekly, comprising 145 gastronomic varieties. The most popular among these have proven to be 'Wiener Würstchen', of which 193 tonnes is produced on an annual basis, followed by 'Lyoner' and 'Lëtzebuerger Grillwurscht' at 101 yearly tonnes each.

Head Chef Roy Raasch has been with the Cactus Group since 2006, and presented the two major products of black pudding ('Boudin Noir/Träipen') and Cactus farmers ham ('Bauernschinken'). Emblematic of Luxembourg, black pudding is a delicate and nutritionally-rich product which requires a significant amount of finesse to achieve. Mr. Raasch, traceability is important in the production, particularly with regards to the bag of spices which goes into 250 kg of produce, to flavour it with salt, pepper and other seasoning.

Farmers ham, or Bauernschinken, also requires extreme care and attention, involving three days of work. An hommage to the slow-food movement advocated by Cactus, the ham is smoked for three hours and cooked for a further six hours overnight. Each part of the process, including the opening of the casing and insertion of onions and fresh vegetables before it is resealed, requires meticulous care to order to guarantee the characteristic and unique taste of the final outcome.

Confectionery

The bakery section of the 'Hausgemaacht' range aims to incorporate regional ingredients, including Luxlait products, in the preparation of its 250/300 sweet suggestions. 60 employees are involved in patisserie production, which sees 2000 slices of Bamkuch, 500,000 eclairs, 250,000 fruit tarts and 130,000 slices of cheesecake sold every year.

Head pastry chef Jerôme Simon explained how "We favour simplicity in the development process without sacrificing the quality of ingredients. The best pastries are not the most 'theatrical', simple but good, or simply good, would be a good definition of our concept". To illustrate this, he showcased two key products, the 'Bamkuch' and the 'Bûche 2015' range.

'Bamkuch' is a traditional speciality, formed of a dough consisting of biscuit, almonds, spices and rum. Creating 'Bamkuch' is the definition of a step-by-step process, cooked in successive pieces to create a multi-layered circular cake. The tree ring effect has proved popular, with more than 2000 products sold in the course of a year at Cactus.

'Bûche 2015' is a form of log, covered in butter cream and rolled into a spiral. The Cactus range provides moka, chocolate or natural flavours to choose from, with Moka proving the most popular option amongst the Luxembourg population.


Roasting

Six full-time and one part-time employees, headed by Bernard Esch, are involved in the roasting section of 'Hausgemaacht'. Three coffee brands are available, these being Bruno, Cactus and Leesch, with the former offering a wide range of coffees such as Guatemala and Bio-Fairtrade, as well as classic blends including Dessert, Espresso and Decaffeinated.

The Bruno brand provides 18 options in total, with its Bio Fairtrade coffee constituting 13,241 packets sold annually and no less than 46,449 kg roasted in 2014. Part of the Fairtrade label, this 100% arabica organic coffee is derived from grains orginating in forests in northeast Peru and is produced by a coffee farming cooperative entitled 'Oro Verde', employing around a hundred producers. Through payment gained from coffee production, the Cooperative is able to invest in sustainable development projects and introduce better living conditions for indigenous populations.

Bernard Esch, who has been with Bruno since 1993, also introduced the Christmas Blend, a 100% arabica mix consisting of four different origins.

"We are building the taste quality of our 'Hausgemaacht' offer on four pillars: recipes of yesteryear, the know-how from here, artisanal production and natural 'Taste the difference!' cuisine," explained Marc Hoffman, Marketing Director Cactus. "And all, whilst ensuring the best quality/price [...] Production in Luxembourg, craft production, the best ingredients, etc, of course involves cost. However, this cost is largely offset by the absence of intermediaries between us who produce and the final consumer, such as modern logistics costs, given the size of the Grand Duchy, and the absence of advertising investments. Word-of-mouth is our George Clooney for us".

 

Photos by Sarah Graham