Taillens

A bakery that caters weddings

Taillens is a bakery and patisserie with several addresses in Valais, listed on its site as Crans, Montana, Violettes, Lens and Veyras, plus a restaurant, Le Farinet, and a shop called Taillens la 2ème chance. It runs a catering service with its own wedding page, "Votre Mariage", which opens with a reassurance: "Vous pouvez vous reposer sur notre grande expérience" (you can rely on our long experience). The page divides a wedding into 3 parts, the apéritif, the meal and the wedding cake, and Taillens offers all three. For a couple marrying around Crans-Montana, it is a single supplier for the apéro, dinner and cake, with the cake coming from a working patisserie.

The apéritif

The wedding page says the apéritif plays a crucial role in making a wedding memorable, and that the team advises "sur l'assortiment parfait et les quantités adéquates" (on the right assortment and the right quantities) so that guests are satisfied. It takes the couple's tastes into account and proposes a selection of amuse-bouches and drinks according to their budget. The page points to a separate catering card (Notre carte traiteur) for the options, or to a personalized offer on request.

The meal

For the meal, the page lists the formats: "un menu complet préparé par notre chef du restaurant Le Farinet, un cocktail dînatoire, une raclette conviviale, une grillade en plein air, ou toute autre formule discutée ensemble". That is a full menu cooked by the chef of the Le Farinet restaurant, a standing cocktail dinner, a raclette, an outdoor grill, or any other format agreed together. The raclette, which the page calls "conviviale", is worth noting for a couple with guests from abroad who want the wedding dinner to taste of the region.

The page is also clear about the level of service. It offers "plusieurs formules flexibles", from simply supplying the food and equipment so that the couple can take charge, to "un service complet où notre équipe se charge à la fois de la cuisine et du service", a complete service where the team does both the cooking and the serving. The options are defined together according to the type of reception. The site's navigation also has a page on equipment, service and delivery (Matériel, service et livraison), and a chef-at-home service.

The general catering page adds that Taillens handles events whether intimate or large, "en plein air ou dans l'intimité chaleureuse d'un chalet" (outdoors or in the warmth of a chalet), and that the menu can lean toward traditional Valais cooking or bolder flavors, savory or sweet.

The wedding cake

The cake section is the most detailed on the page, as one would hope from a patisserie. Couples choose the flavors, decoration, size and presentation. The page says a wedding cake usually has several tiers, arranged "en spirale, en pyramide ou sur trois niveaux" (in a spiral, a pyramid or on 3 levels), and can be surrounded with matching cakes. Round cakes are most common, but square or more original shapes are possible, and the number of guests usually decides the size.

On flavors, the page notes that the old standard was a white pyramid of génoise filled with buttercream, and that today anything goes: St Honoré, vacherin glacé, mille-feuille, fruit mousses, croquembouche, or a dessert made to measure. Decoration can include figurines, the couple's names, fresh flowers or a photo of the couple.

The page also gives practical advice. It suggests matching the cake to the menu, especially if the menu already has a dessert. It warns against ordering too much, since most guests are no longer very hungry at dessert, and recommends reducing the number of portions by 20 to 25 %. It suggests 2 desserts, a light one of verrines or mignardises at the end of the meal and the cake later in the evening. It reminds couples that, traditionally, the bride chooses the cake to her own taste, and encourages the couple to please themselves rather than every guest. And it advises thinking about the season: in summer, avoid pastries that do not stand up to heat.

The company behind it

The about page describes "des collaborateurs motivés, engagés et animés par la passion du métier" who make quality products every day from carefully chosen ingredients, favoring local flavors. The stated goals include product quality, a wide range, "un service accueillant, compétent et professionnel", innovation and the pleasure of surprising, and careful listening to clients' needs. On sourcing, it says almost all its fresh products come from businesses in the region, and "Le circuit court est une des valeurs essentielles à notre philosophie" (short supply chains are one of the essential values of its philosophy). It also stresses training apprentices and defending traditional craft.

The navigation shows the breadth of the bakery: bread, viennoiserie, pastries, celebration cakes, snacks, specialties, confectionery and a range of "sans" (free-from) products, plus tea rooms in Crans and Montana, a breakfast buffet and pages on the company's history, awards and labels.

Contact

Taillens can be reached at info@boulangerietaillens.ch or +41 27 485 40 60.

What the site does not settle

• Language. The site is in French and does not mention English or German. Ask in the first message.
• Prices. No prices appear on the wedding page. The catering card and a personalized offer are the next steps.
• Guest numbers. No minimum or maximum is given.
• Terms. Deposit, cancellation and lead time for a wedding cake or catering are not stated.
• Dietary needs. The shop sells "sans" products, but the wedding page says nothing about allergies or special diets at a wedding.

Who it suits

Taillens suits couples marrying in the Crans-Montana area, or elsewhere in Valais if the team travels there, who want a local bakery to handle the apéritif, the meal and, above all, the cake. Its flexible formulas cover both a couple who wants to run things themselves with delivered food and one who wants a full service. A raclette or a grill in a chalet or outdoors fits the region well.

The main caveats are the French-only site and the absence of prices. The cake advice, though, is a useful guide for any couple, and a sign that the team has thought about weddings in detail.