Thomas Christen and his inner fire

Noble, natural raw materials as part of the culinary essence of the Alps

Where do you think you're going," Thomas Christen says with a wink. He is certainly not a burnt child. But blazing flames, in connection with the Stanserhorn, have always had a special meaning for him. That's how it happened: As a child, he witnessed the hotel fire on the Stanserhorn live. That was the night of 3 October 1970, and his father, who was fire chief at the time, was of course on the scene immediately. The little boy was mightily impressed. "A special bond with the local mountain remained." And today he is proud that he is allowed to deliver all kinds of crispy-smelling baked goods and sweets to his favourite mountain. Thomas Christen's fascination with fire has not gone away. Although in a slightly different way - in the direction of inner fire, for example. For exquisite baked goods, of course. In 1995, he took over a small bakery in Stans. "Even then we were allowed to supply the Stanserhorn," explains the father of two proudly. That was more than 25 years ago. Today, the baker-entrepreneur Thomas Christen has around 160 employees "giving him a hand". The sparks of his inner fire jumped over to them. They "burn" to produce for him (and us) a fascinating selection of baking and confectionery specialities under the label: "Only the finest". The inner fire blazes undiminished throughout the empire. And ties to the Stanserhon have remained. The two companies are pulling the same sustainable rope. Thomas Christen also relies on noble, natural raw materials from the region. Just as the "Essence of the Alps" concept is implemented in a culinary and delicious way on the Stanserhorn.

Fränzi Mohn and Jens Wiedehöft stroll through the spacious bakery in Buochs with all the delicious products. Almost unnoticed, a special gleam creeps into Fränzi's eyes. And then she starts raving: "Thomas's delicious breads are simply amazing. The banquet rolls we serve on the mountain for candlelight dinners are also a credit to the master baker." And the creative Beck has already won some "honour". His "Huisbrot" won silver at the Swiss Baker Trophy! But the "Huisbrot" came about by pure chance. Because the ovens were often busy on Saturday, the dough had to be left to stand longer. Customers found the bread particularly tasty on Saturdays. Today, the "Huisbrot" is "cooked" longer, i.e. left to rest. But Thomas is not only a master at baking bread. The virtuoso Beck and his "burning" team are also simply tops when it comes to cakes and desserts. Even the seasoned certified chef Jens Wiedehöft got his sleeve tucked in - he developed into a Christen "cream slice savant". Sometimes the Stanserhorn crew has a batch of cream slices delivered. "The oh-so-creamy slices from Thomas' Factory are just fantastic," Jens says, adding, "Unfortunately, they always sell out quickly." No problem for the Beck. The sweet Christen supply knows the quickest way to the Stanserhorn.