Kurt Hertrich began his career as
a youth in his native Switzerland, where he attended the Professional School
for Pastry Cooks (Konditor), St. Gallen, Switzerland, and the Technical
School in Richemont, Luzern, Switzerland.
In his early career, he worked as a Chief Patissier
in Switzerland, Germany, England, and Bermuda; then later as Assistant
Pastry Chef in charge of preparation of desserts, cakes and pastries for
the Statler Hilton in New York City; and Bakery Manager for the Joseph
Horne Company in Pittsburgh, Pa.
He arrived in Birmingham in 1970 to take
the position of Director of Food Operations for Pizitz Bake Shops, where
he supervised the bakery division for 26 retail stores including a central
bakery plant, a restaurant, the employees’ cafeteria and a catering service.
From 1981 to 1987, he owned and managed the
highly successful Swiss Pastry Shop in Birmingham, specializing in fancy
European pastries and cakes and employing a staff of 14.
In 1987, after the business was purchased
by Bruno’s Supermarkets, Kurt took the responsibility, as Bruno’s
Director of Swiss Pastries, for starting and operating an upscale European
Bakery in the Bruno’s stores. By the time he retired from Bruno’s,
he had started up, and was supervising, 24 Swiss Pastry Shops in four states.
Wedding Cakes by Kurt now focuses this lifetime
of experience in Europe and the United States on the creation of superbly
beautiful and delicious cakes for the Birmingham area’s most elegant occasions.
The examples on this Web site may serve as
a starting point for discussing your occasion’s unique requirements.
