SQ Talk. Entrepreneurs get naked with A. Helson from Dandoy and L. Collinet from Tapio

Great-great-great-grandfather Jean-Baptiste was an artisan baker. In 1829, he opened his first shop on rue du Marché-aux-Herbes. Thirty years later, in 1858, he moved to rue au Beurre where he taught the trade to his son Philippe. This iswhere the Dandoy dynasty thrives: 150 years later, butter and sugar still rule the roost.

During the first half of the 20th century, Maison Dandoy stayed the course under the leadership of Jean-Philippe, Philippe'sson, then his daughter Fernande and her husband Valère Rombouts. The period of the Second World War is complicatedand fortunately there was the crispy sweet rusk. It was not until 1948 that Fernande and Valère resumed the manufacture of all their specialties. Demanding with regard to the quality of their raw materials, neither post-war butter nor sugar hadsatisfied them until then.

During the '70s, Jean Rombouts-Dandoy, son of Valère and Fernande, and his wife Christiane breathed new life intoMaison Dandoy. Conquered, the inhabitants of Brussels crowd rue au Beurre. A true enthusiast, Jean even refuses a job offer from NASA to continue creating new cookies, supported by his two gourmet masters Pierre and Willy. As for Valère, at over 80 years old, he is never far away and continues to watch over the business.

After Jean and Christiane, it’s Christine’s turn, their daughter, and Bernard Helson, their son-in-law, to take over. New boutiques opened but Maison Dandoy never yielded to the temptation of industrialization. Family, craftsmanship, qualityand tradition are the foundations of the House. In 2012, Maison Dandoy's branding got a makeover: golden dots showedup on the packaging. Alexandre and Antoine, sons of Bernard and seventh generation of Maison Dandoy, joined the adventure. What about now? Full of new ideas, big projects, the same recipes of yesteryear and deep work on the sustainability of production.