What do you need to know about the beginning of the supply chain? Everything, because the way a product is grown, collected, treated and packaged makes a big difference down the line. As an F&B entrepreneur, you will need to know how to work with producers, either directly or through local marketplaces.

To give you a complete understanding of the product supply chain, the CREM includes field trips to meet the men & women who are behind the products that you will use every day to delight your customers.

Over the past few years, CREM students met a wide variety of professionals:

• Fruits & vegetables producers and farmers
• Meat producers: the famous 'Bresse poultry'
• Cheese makers: Gaudry factory in France
• Confectioners: Favarger Chocolate factory in Geneva)
• Wine producers in Burgundy and Switzerland
• Alcohol factories: Bacardi in Geneva

The CREM includes trips to visit suppliers, from independent retailers to large wholesalers, because good suppliers are the key to a successful F&B business. They determine important factors, such as delivery timelines, product quality, new product lines, and they impact the bottom line of budget and cost controls.

On one such trip, our CREM students had the opportunity to visit the wholesale market of Carouge (close to Geneva) to learn how hygiene and safety standards are applied on a large scale. For example, they saw how the cold chain (refrigeration) was maintained, which is an important standard for fresh products like meat, fish or seafood.

On another occasion, the students met Johann Favre, an awarded Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) in Fruits & Vegetables. His prestigious title, meaning Best Craftsman of France, is earned through a rigorous, high-level competition. As a 'Greengrocer wizard', Johann shared his passion for, and knowledge of, thousands of fruits, vegetables, flowers, plants and herbs. Students learned how he supplies his customers, from family restaurants to the finest gastronomic places, everywhere in Switzerland.