Though now she is known as the jam fairy and queen of French jam/"la reine des confitures", when Christine Ferber was 8 she wanted to become a veterinarian.
Coming from 4 generations of boulangiers this was not an option at Maison Ferber.
She was allowed to go study pastry but it was not possible to study in Paris.
There were no stages/apprenticeships available for women at the time. Christine went to school in Brussels for 2 years, won a pastry contest and found a place/stage in Paris with the top patissiere, Lucien Peletier, founder of the internationalRelais Desserts.
Training is intense and consists of achieving expertise in the 5 arts: PÂTISSIER, CONFISEUR, CHOCOLATIER, BOULANGER, TRAITEUR, GLACIER, TRAITEUR. Everything in the shop is hand-made. Ferber personally fills every jam jar (to the absolute brim). She works 24/7 starting her day at 5:00 am, ending at 10 pm. Only seasonal fruits (mostly Alsacian 80% from vendors she has worked with for 20 years) are used. And no frozen fruits.
Christine is master of all 5 skills as evident in her shop, Au Relais des Trois Epis in Niedermorschwir.
Naturally I asked Christine about the adorable famous Ferber bonnets/red polka-dotted hats on the jams. She started experimenting with making jams but her father thought is was a waste of time. Ha!
She researched and found the unusual red dotted fabric, tied on a white bow, and put jars in the shop window simply for display. Pretty soon customers made inquiries. They wanted to buy her confiture and history was made. Maison Ferber has 250 distributors world-wide, Japan being their biggest customer. I believe 140,000 jars are sold annually👏🥂❤️
You could say Elizabeth II, Queen of England and Christine Ferber are “joined at the hip” so to speak.
They are both queens and they both love jam. Especially strawberry 🍓 jam.
Queen Elizabeth was eating ‘jam pennies’ since she was 5. What are jam pennies? Two small (British penny size) rounds of white bread with strawberry jam inside, always eaten by the queen daily at afternoon tea.
We know the queen loved Corgis though she had no aspirations to become a veterinarian. She got her first Corgi, Dookie at age 7.
And Queen Elizabeth was absolutely mad for color 🎨
Friday, on the train to Colmar to visit Christine’s shop, I saw this lovely picture of the queen and was inspired to get out my watercolors.
But I could not make a good royal purple. Fortunately in Colmar, a small craft shop had a lovely cobalt violet and a mauve from Daler-Rowney (my new favorite brand) to repaint the queen properly.
Thank you for the photo of la Reine des Confitures. I’ve long wondered. She appears as lovely as one would imagine. I’m hopeful that eating jam will give me a complexion as flawless as hers. I adore her confitures. ❤️
I see that you admired Elizabeth II. I ,too, think she was a grand lady with a great sense of humor and a zest for life. She loved her horses and her corgis--her family and her country. I appreciate the pomp and circumstance accompanying her demise. Good luck with your heart-warming depiction of her and her pooches
Christine IS the Queen of jams..I wonder which came first..the check or the dots?:) Love both.In Provence at markets many home jammers cover their jars with colorful paper napkins..shining under that south of France sun they make quite an impact:)
so beautiful
ReplyDeleteThank you Kat. Lucky you! Christine Ferber will be attending the Salon du Chocolat in Tokyo.
DeleteI can’t find the Queen on Etsy!?
ReplyDeleteIt’s up now on Etsy. I had to go get prints made and draw the last Corgi dogs!
DeleteThanks
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1291885020/queen-elizabeth-ii-watercolor-portrait
Thank you for the photo of la Reine des Confitures. I’ve long wondered. She appears as lovely as one would imagine. I’m hopeful that eating jam will give me a complexion as flawless as hers. I adore her confitures. ❤️
ReplyDeleteHer complexion is magnificent. I tried putting jam on my face last night but the results were not satisfactory.
DeleteEnjoyed seeing the Queen in the rainbow of vibrant colors she like to wear. Some one should do a book.
ReplyDeleteI am sure there will be one Very soon. Don’t worry. She was a snappy dresser.
DeleteThere is one it was published last year and is called Our Rainbow Queen
DeleteI love your paintings of both the Queen and the jams. Christine Ferber and the Queen -- both truly amazing women. I love her packaging!
ReplyDeleteJeanie, they say packaging is everything. In this case it’s what’s inside that counts.
DeleteI think your Queen illustrations are absolutely beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI see that you admired Elizabeth II. I ,too, think she was a grand lady with a great sense of humor and a zest for life. She loved her horses and her corgis--her family and her country. I appreciate the pomp and circumstance accompanying her demise. Good luck with your heart-warming depiction of her and her pooches
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for doing this Carol. It is just beautiful. I so love and admire the Queen
ReplyDeleteLove your water colors of jam and the Queen, of course.
ReplyDeleteThank you Suki
DeleteChristine IS the Queen of jams..I wonder which came first..the check or the dots?:) Love both.In Provence at markets many home jammers cover their jars with colorful paper napkins..shining under that south of France sun they make quite an impact:)
ReplyDeleteThe Vichy checks are older
DeleteThis jam sounds delicious, and seasonally made. Best tribute to the Queen so far is your colourful water colour and cute corgis.
ReplyDeleteThank you Kirra ❤️
Deletetalk about work ethic! How does Christine do it? Jeanette sclar
ReplyDeleteI have no idea! Workaholic
DeleteThank you 💚 so interesting to learn about Christine Ferber and these lovely fresh jams! I'll have to check if they are available here in Finland.
ReplyDeleteLovely post! I’m always so excited to read your articles!
ReplyDelete