Swiss Roll wasn’t originally a Swiss product, the origins of the term “Swiss Roll” are lost in the mists of time but the cake is thought to have originated somewhere in Central Europe in the nineteenth century. It was the British who coined the term, probably to give this tea time treat a modicum of snob value. Basically a flat cake, spread with jam and then rolled into a cylinder, the fillings vary throughout the world. The American’s call it “Jelly Roll” and it’s this monica that Ferdinand Mouton adopted, along with anglicising his last name to become Jelly Roll Morton. Jelly Roll was a famous blues/jazz musician from the early twentieth century who earned a living, in his early years, playing piano in a brothel. After Morton’s granny found out where he was playing she invited him to leave her house, she reckoned he had disgraced the family and forbade him to ever darken her doorstep again. She also reckoned that playing the devils music would bring about his downfall. One imagines that he was so named “Jelly Roll” because he ate excessive amounts of, well, Jelly Roll but you’d be wrong, Jelly Roll was the local slang for ladies private bits, this probably further antagonised his poor old god fearing granny.
Originally called a Schwiezer Offiziermesser, the American Soldiers who were issued with this useful piece of kit found that a bit of a mouthful and christened it the Swiss Army Knife, the name stuck and it has since became the world’s most famous pocket knife, much coveted by young boys and knife geeks the world over. There’s no denying the knife is incredibly useful, among the implements within the knife’s housing you’ll find a bottle opener, can opener, tooth pick, screw driver, allen key, a tool for prising coins from a Yorkshireman’s hand and all manner of whizz-kiddery. In 2006, Wenger, the knife’s producer, introduced “The Giant” to the world, the knife included every gadget and implement the company had ever made, it has 141 different functions, they change hands in America for over $1,000. If you think that’s impressive, the Swiss Master Cutler, Hans Meister made a one-off with 314 blades, recognised by the Guiness Book Of Records as the worlds largest pen knife which weighs more than hefty baby fed entirely on Swiss Roll.
I often wonder why the Swiss have become the world’s leading watchmakers, is it down to their obsession with time? or their incredibly nimble fingers and tiny Hans? Most of the world’s leading brands are Swiss and include Hublot, Tissot, TagHeur, Breitling, Longines and Rolex, that impressive list of brands barely scratches the surface. They are also amongst the world’s most expensive, the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day, for instance, will set you back $62,000. At the end of the day, the Rolex will still only register the same time as less prestigious brands, precisely midnight.
Even mice have a high regard for Swiss products and favour Swiss Cheese, especially Emmental, the fat content is fatal for mice and it’s this that kills them and not the sprung trap, which is merely the coup de grace. The cunning Swiss cheesemakers pepper Emmantal with holes and sell it to the Dutch who use the “holes” to make Edam.
Arguably the most famous person to originate from Switzerland, Carl Jung was quoted as saying “He who looks outside, dreams, he who looks inside, awakes”. Coming from a Swiss native, with all the beauty that surrounds, looking ‘inside’ must take some discipline, daydreaming comes naturally here as anyone who has spent any time in this incredibly beautiful country will know.
As legend would have it Ski Boutique was actually formed in Switzerland and some of the finest luxury chalets in our entire collection can be found within it's beautiful borders.