Urs Liechti, had a long journey toward achieving his dream of becoming a Lindt Maître Chocolatier. After his apprenticeship at a famous confectionerary in his hometown of Bern, Switzerland, Liechti travelled the globe for 10 years, bringing Swiss chocolate craftsmanship to the world before returning to earn his Masters degree as a confectioner and open his own confectionery, which he successfully ran for over a decade. Only then did he have enough experience to match his passion, bringing him to a place where he could become one of the famous Lindt Maître Chocolatier
All Lindt Maîtres Chocolatiers (master chocolate confectioners) bring creativity, curiosity and a personal passion for chocolate to their careers as professional confectioner. This passion, in combination with their craftsmanship, is crucial to developing new creations time and time again.
At the Lindt & Sprüngli headquarters in Kilchberg, the Maîtres Chocolatiers team consists of five product developers, numerous confectioners who teach courses on chocolate-making, and a team of almost 20 confectioners work for the company for promotions. Worldwide, many more confectioners work for Lindt & Sprüngli, and further product development teams work at each production site, as tastes vary around the world but the original chocolate recipes are still a well-guarded and further developed in Switzerland.
Lindt Maître Chocolatier Urs Liechti was born in Bern in 1958. “Like almost every child, I loved sweets, but especially chocolate,” he says. “For me, chocolate has always been a very special treat and the decision to take up a profession related to chocolate was an easy one.”
We were granted an interview with Urs Liechti, where he discusses how he realized his dream of becoming a Lindt Maîtres Chocolatiers and even more you might wish to know about chocolate.
Q: What was your path to become a Lindt Maître Chocolatier?
A: In 1975 I started an apprenticeship as a confectioner in one of the best traditional confectioneries “Confiserie Tschirren,” in the middle of the old town in Bern. During my apprenticeship, chocolate fascinated me the most, and my passion for the profession was born.
After my apprenticeship, I wanted to take Swiss chocolate craftsmanship out into the world. My sweet life took me to Ottawa in Canada, where I later ran a small chocolate production in a confectionery shop. Before returning to Switzerland, I worked for a few years in Melbourne, Australia.
During my travels, I learned a lot — not only professionally, but also in dealing with people and learning their cultures and chocolate preferences, which still helps me today when creating new delights. I used this experience for 10 years in my own confectionery in Spiez in the canton of Berne, before my dream job came my way in 2001: Lindt Maître Chocolatier at Lindt & Sprüngli. I have been living my dream ever since.
Today, I have the pleasure to fully concentrate on my great passion, the pralines development. For a confectioner, the most demanding task is to develop a new praline.
Q: What does chocolate mean to you?
A: Chocolate is the most exciting product you can imagine. The history of cocoa alone is incredibly interesting, to learn how late chocolate was accessible to everyone and not just to select circles in the aristocracy and the journey from South America all over the world. For me, chocolate is the finest luxury food in the world.
Producing chocolate is more complex and elaborate than any other confection and at the same time fascinating. The many factors that can influence the quality are incredibly complex. This begins with the selection of perfectly ripened fruits of high quality. Also the fermentation in the country of origin under ideal conditions also plays a major role in the variety of flavors and quality of the cocoa. At Lindt & Sprüngli, we have spent over 175 years perfecting the processing of cocoa, including our roasting and grinding methods and conching, to create our smooth-melting Lindt chocolate we are known for.
Q: Is it possible to train taste buds or is it a question of talent?
A: Intensive training is an ideal prerequisite for properly tasting the subtleties and aromas of chocolate. But in our profession as confectioners, we need a talent and passion for chocolate to taste it properly and develop new creations that delight our consumers.
Q: What is the best way to taste chocolate?
A: Chocolate needs to be enjoyed using all five of your senses. We recommend trying the practice with one of our delicate Lindt Excellence dark chocolate bars:
First, experience the scent of the chocolate. When you open the packaging, bring the chocolate close to your nose and inhale its aroma.
The second step is all about appearance. I pay attention to the texture of the surface and touch it. It should have a smooth surface, like our Excellence chocolates, and a firm consistency.
Thirdly, high-quality chocolate also has a very characteristic sound. Hold the bar directly to your ear and break off a piece. Can you hear a “snap” sound when you break off a piece? Quality chocolate breaks easily and if you look at the breaking edge, it will be smooth. The fourth impression is all about the scent of chocolate. Hold it right under your nose and take a deep breath.
Finally, after this you earned your way to the exquisite taste and texture in your mouth. Let the chocolate melt slowly, breathing in through your mouth and out through your nose. This is how you absorb the wonderful variety of the flavours.
What flavours do you taste when you make the test? Spicy, sweet or salty? Fruity or nutty? Challenge yourself to identify all the flavours. Take a piece of chocolate between your thumb and forefinger and gently rub it. As soon as the chocolate starts to melt, feel the fine texture. The particles in Lindt chocolate are so small that our chocolate is never sandy or gritty, but has a fine, delicate texture.
And just like that, you can enjoy chocolate with all your five senses.
Q: Why do you love working as a Lindt Maître Chocolatier?
A: For me, it's the best job in the world because I can make people happy with my creations every day. It's always nice to be reminded that everyone loves chocolate, and chocolate makes people happy all over the world. You create a sparkle in their eyes when you mention that you work for Lindt. It is just amazing what I have experienced for over 20 years now.
Q: Could you describe a normal day for a Lindt Maître Chocolatier?
A: My everyday life is all about chocolate. I eat chocolate every day — sometimes even for breakfast! I do not exaggerate. Developing new recipes has a lot to do with tastings to find out which flavours we can combine.
As Lindt Maître Chocolatiers, we always develop our recipes as part of a large team. It starts with an intensive exchange with our product managers from marketing to consider the latest consumer needs. It continues with the results of our testers' blind tests, which are incorporated into our creations, the technical discussions in our product development teams and engineers for the technological implementation. As you can see, a whole armada is involved in a product development. Always with the aim of developing our chocolate products for our consumers.
For me, the team spirit is very important. The dynamic exchange between our teams is what enriches every development of our products and makes them so unique.
Q: Where do you find the inspiration for your new recipes?
A: As a Lindt Maître Chocolatier, I am always searching for new taste experiences, but especially during my vacations. I like to visit local markets and restaurants with new food concepts to immerse myself in new worlds of flavour. This is just one secret to my sources of inspiration.
Every new recipe starts with an idea. This can be a shape, a certain aroma or an extraordinary ingredient that I have discovered. For me, everything stands and falls with the quality of the ingredients. After all, only the best is good enough for us.
That is why it is so crucial for us to have everything in the production chain under our own responsibility, from the selection of high-quality cocoa beans to the elegant packaging of our chocolates. Because this is the only way we can guarantee quality.
Q: What is the secret of Lindt chocolate?
A: Lindt chocolates are known worldwide for their fine melting texture and incomparable, unique taste. One of the secrets, what makes Lindt so exceptionally good, is our Lindt Maître Chocolatiers’ passion for chocolate. The creation of such fine chocolate is an art that requires profound expertise, long-lasting experience and dedication for uncompromised quality. The Lindt Maîtres Chocolatiers are masters of this art.
Driven by our unmatched standard for quality, we have developed and refined our secret recipes, which start with the selection of fine raw materials and high-quality ingredients, and culminate in exquisite creations. Another reason certainly is that Lindt is one of the few chocolate makers producing from bean-to-bar.
Q: What explains the great success of Lindor truffles?
A: It starts with the rustling of the paper, the unveiling of the Lindor truffle, the fine scent of the chocolate, the first bite into the firm chocolate shell, and ends with the smooth-melting core and intense moments of delight. Lindor simply has everything you need for your personal “Moment of Bliss.”
Lindor has been on the market as a chocolate bar since 1949. But it was not until 1969 that the Lindor truffle was created as an innovation at Christmas. The Lindor range has continued to innovate over the decades. Internationally, flavours such as Lindor Gianduja, Lindor Caramel and Sea Salt, or Lindor Matcha have caused a sensation. Well over 30 exquisite varieties have now been created. But our classic Lindor Milk is still our global bestseller after more than 70 years.
Q: Are you working on anything new?
A: Yes, there are quite a few things that I have in mind and that we are currently working on, of course. We have launched a number of innovations over the years, such as Lindor Peppermint Cookie in the USA or Lindor Mango with a delicate mango cream. We will certainly surprise you again soon with an unexpected flavour.
Q: What does a new confection need to have before it can be launched on the market?
A: Before a new Lindor creation is launched on the market, it must first and foremost meet our high quality standards and pass our internal tests. But above all, it has to meet the wishes of our consumers which are at the center of each creation. After all, we develop our fine chocolate products for them. Only when our testers approve of our new recipe and rate it accordingly, we go into production.
Q: How long does it take from the first idea to the market launch of a new chocolate?
A: It can take up to two years before our Lindt chocolate fans can hold a new Lindor creation in their hands. For a new praline, even up to three years. We attach great importance to ensuring that a product has the same fine finishing touches that it would have if it were made by hand. And this takes some time. For us, every product development always begins with the craftmanship of a chocolatier.
Q: How does Lindt ensure its uncompromising quality standard is met?
A: Lindt & Sprüngli stands for high quality and production standards in the manufacturing of our world-famous premium chocolate. To this day, this also includes the closely guarded chocolate recipes that we keep here in Switzerland and guard like a treasure.
To guarantee our quality worldwide, the parent company here in Kilchberg defines the quality standards and process know-how in manufacturing, which applies at all 12 production sites worldwide. Starting with the patented processes for the cocoa bean preparation, the unique roasting and grinding process up to the conching. Thus, the original recipes and the know-how from Switzerland are still the fine difference of our Lindt chocolate today.
Q: What is the optimal way to store chocolate?
A: Our fine chocolate is a very delicate product that should be stored under controlled conditions to preserve its high quality. The optimal temperature for the storage of chocolate is between 14-16°C. However, the perfect temperature to enjoy and eat chocolate is around 20-22°C. At this temperature the aromas of chocolate develop ideally. So let the chocolate - just like a good wine - adjust to room temperature before enjoying it.
Q: Which is your favourite Lindt chocolate?
A: Clearly our global bestseller — Lindor made from delicate smooth melting milk chocolate.
