Holiday delights add to the allure of Swiss bakery | NOTABLE

Artist Roosje Penfold starts her days the Swiss way.

Artist Roosje Penfold starts her days the Swiss way.

Penfold lives next door to PS Suisse Confiserie and Patisserie, a Swiss bakery in Langley Village and the smell of freshly baked breads and pastries wakes her each morning when it opens.

“We smell freshly baked croissants at around 7 a.m. each morning and then I dash downstairs with my coat over my jammies for a European start of the day,” Penfold said.

That must feel somewhat like home to the Dutch Penfold, who hails from Amsterdam. Well, at least from Wednesday through Saturday, when the bakery is open.

One morning, Penfold said she was surprised by an additional creation which longtime baker and bakery owner Peter Boden, a native of Switzerland, had whipped up. The baker told Penfold that he imports all his chocolate from Switzerland and uses only the best for his confections.

“Peter had just finished this amazing chocolate champagne bottle with a marzipan label, and marzipan grapes,” Penfold said.

“The bottle opens at the bottom and is filled with individual hand-wrapped truffles. I think he said they have booze in them,” she added.

Penfold described her recent visits to the sweet-smelling shop as one that holds a certain old-fashioned European Christmas atmosphere, packed as it is now with handmade chocolates, marzipan whales, Christmas stollen and other old world treats.

“He really is a master of his craft, a master of chocolate creations,” she said.

PS Suisse is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and is at 221 Second St. #12 in Langley.