“I had made puff pastry once before.”

Before co-founding Dufour Pastry Kitchens, Carla worked in the classical music world, helping build the careers of musicians and conductors through organizations like Carnegie Hall and the Aspen Music Festival. After years in the industry, Carla and a colleague were ready for a change. “We were no longer interested in promoting other people’s careers,” Carla says.  “We wanted to create something of our own, tossed around ideas,  and decided to try manufacturing a food product.”

In their apartments, the pair experimented with concepts around savory pastries and French-style pastry pizzas before moving to shared space in a caterer’s kitchen.  Observing their work, the caterer asked whether they could make puff pastry hors d’oeuvres for her events.

“We said sure,” Carla recalls with a laugh. “I went home and pulled out my Julia Child cookbook. I had made puff pastry once before.”

This was their “aha” moment. Carla explains they were shocked to learn that caterers and professional chefs did not make everything from scratch. “We had no idea there was an entire foodservice industry providing chefs with labor saving food shortcuts. This included a growing specialty food sector.

This was the mid 1980’s when low quality pigs-in-a blanket and cheese puffs were the standard fare.

They started making small batch, frozen hors d’oeuvres with ingredients like fresh mushrooms with truffle oil, braised fennel, 4-cheeses and roasted garlic, all wrapped in pastry and ready-to-bake.  “We started cold calling on hotel chefs, restaurants, caterers and gourmet shops. The reactions we got convinced us we’d found our niche.”  “We stayed behind-the-scenes and developed a reputation as the “chef’s secret source,” according to Carla.

Chefs later began asking for the addition of puff pastry dough and raw tartlet shells alone. They wanted the additional option of making their own fillings.  Dufour obliged and eventually offered their line of pastry doughs to retail stores as well.  The company’s focus continues to be pastry dough. “We want to give our customers the best quality canvas for their own savory or sweet creations,” says Carla.

During COVID, their retail sales surged.  Home bakers started sharing their creations across Instagram and TikTok, introducing the brand to a new generation of customers through entirely organic, user-generated content.  “Our retail sales surpassed food service because of the bake-at-home phenomenon,” Carla explains.  “We’ve never partnered with influencers,” she adds. “People just genuinely love working with the product.”  Demand has remained high.  Their products can be found in Whole Foods, Albertsons, Kroger, and numerous regional chains.

“We have never changed our recipe. It’s been the same from day one.”

More than 40 years after incorporating in 1983, Dufour still manufactures in New York, now operating from a 15,000 square foot facility in the Bronx. The company has grown carefully over time, consolidating product lines, improving efficiencies, and expanding distribution while keeping the core philosophy: quality comes first.

That commitment has helped Dufour become the most recognized premium puff pastry brand in the natural specialty food space. Its products have received numerous awards from the Specialty Food Association’s Fancy Food Show, recognition from major culinary publications, and recent national attention for its all-butter gluten-free puff pastry, one of the only products of its kind on the market.

Best known for their Classic All-Butter Puff Pastry, “it is the premium brand in the natural channel,” says Carla.  “We have never changed our recipe – it’s been the same from day one.”  “The same butter content,” Carla says. “You really can’t get more buttery than that.”

Even after decades in business, Carla says she has no interest in slowing down. “I’m enjoying this now more than ever,” she says. “I love the support from our phenomenal team and sharing in our feelings of accomplishment.”