Do you remember? A kitchen table full of freshly picked fruit, a cooking pot on the fire, glass jars that are waiting to be filled and a (grand)mother who is busy making jam or preserves? At Pipaillon, it's a daily occurrence. After a busy career Catherine wanted to do something in which she could put her heart and soul. From her childhood memories it started to itch to make her own jam. Old recipes were used for new combinations of fruit and spices. The Pipaillon jars make your mouth water. And jam is no longer only eaten on bread. Delicious with a piece of cheese, with your yoghurt, your salad or in a sauce with chicken or stir-fry vegetables.

Back to the old days: jars with delicious preserves

In 2014 the Belgian brand Pipaillon landed in downtown Brussels to set up its artisan factory with a single goal: using old-fashioned savoir-faire to make decidedly contemporary products. The result is a range of jams, marmelades, chutneys, tapenades, candied lemon and spices... based on fresh, organic ingredients, from local producers, without any addition or preservatives. Top natural taste!

The secret of Pipaillon: they praise slowness

Pipaillon is all about quality and takes two days to prepare its jams, three for strawberry. This is to give the fruit’s natural pectin time to work and let the blended spices reach their full strength.

Everything is done by hand at Pipaillon, from cutting the fruit, to filling the jars and sticking the labels. While the industry produces 350 jars of “grandma’s homemade” jam a minute, Pipaillon produces no more than 500 glass jars a day, using 5kg fruit capacity copper cauldrons.

But Pipaillon doesn't just want to produce classic jams that are reminiscent of your childhood. There is also a range of "Rock Jams" with new original creations that everyone is in for. The Dark Side of the Spoon, for example, is a surprising plum jam with Indian Chaï tea and Japanese Yuzu lemon. Who comes up with such an idea?

Pipaillon makes jams and chutneys rock

Fans of rock, the two partners, Catherine and Julien, work with music. Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd are at the top of their hit parade. When a new creation is ready to go to market, they get together with their neighbourhood friends for a tasting, aperitifs and a no-holds-barred brainstorming session to give it a name. 

This is how they got Dancing Quince (a quince marmalade with a hint of gingerbread spice), Rhubarbra Streisand (a singing rhubarb jam), Sugar Baby Love (a flawless apple, pear and 3 spices jam), Mango Unchained (a banging mango chutney), Rhubarbapapa (the childhood rhubarb chutney), Yellow Submarine (floating preserved lemons in salt) and their other mates. 

These musical names make the delicious Pipaillon jams even more of a must-have!

Taste Pipaillon and you will invent new possibilities or moments to eat these jams and chutneys. With breakfast on a piece of toast, but also in your yoghurt or why not add some to your smoothie? Or put a generous spoon next to your salad or with your stir-fried vegetables. And add a sweet touch to your cheese dish with the surprising Pipaillon jams.

Catherine and Julien: a story of friendship and love for quality

At Pipaillon’s helm we find Catherine Bodson and Julien Leclercq.

Catherine’s passion is the land. From the Bodson nurseries at Herstal where her grandfather grew apples, pears and quinces, she was inspired by the women in her family: the gentle memory of Aunt Aline, in charge of the Hotel Jacoby at Lacuisine (you couldn’t make it up), and Aunt Yvonne and her fabulous preserves brought from her orchards at Scherpenheuvel. In 2013, Catherine wanted to get back to basics, to embrace her roots and her deep passion for cooking by launching herself into making and selling bottled delights. 

As for Julien, it was his friendship with Catherine, and especially his love of food, which literally pulled him in. He started as a client, and Pipaillon soon became his cafe of choice. A Cordon Bleu chef with common sense, he would buy himself jars for his home recipes. One thing led to another, and in 2014 he left his job in political communications and entered the atelier. From being an observer, Julien quickly turned into an adviser, before taking the leap and becoming a partner.

Discover the range of Pipaillon jams and chutneys. Which rocking jam will you get first? Attention, before you know it, you want them all!