King's Day and tompoucs: how our machines help with 900 kilometres of pastries

For Kings Day, millions of tompoucen are produced in the Netherlands. Read how our machines contribute to 900 kilometres of orange pastries.

Johan van Rens

21 April 2025

9 million tompoucs in one week? Yes indeed.

Around King's Day, the Netherlands turns orange-and you see it not only on the streets, but also in the pastry display cases. The iconic orange tompouce has become a regular part of this national holiday. What many people don't know: much of all those tompouces are processed with the help of our slicers.

Our technology plays a key role in this annual orange rush. In the days before King's Day, our customers collectively produce about 9 million tompouces. In just one week. If you were to put them all back to back, it would create a ribbon of more than 900 kilometers. That is the distance from Amsterdam to Berlin ... and a good bit back. Or: 4.5 times the Elfstedentocht.

Tompoucen cremeslices cremeslice cremeschnitten millefeuille

The challenge of slicing tompoucs

Cutting tompouces is a skill in itself. A tompouce consists of several layers: crispy puff pastry with a soft, creamy filling in between. This makes the product fragile and difficult to handle. Manual cutting is time-consuming and requires extreme precision.

Our cutting solutions ensure speed, control and preservation of product quality. This allows bakers to focus on what really matters: taste and craftsmanship, without compromising the appearance of their product.

"We are proud that our machines may contribute to this delicious and typically Dutch tradition. Every year again, when demand peaks, our customers are not alone."

- Johan van Rens, owner Rens Bakery Solutions

Puff pastry solutions

Although in the Netherlands we speak of tompoucen, bakers worldwide know this pastry under different names: in France they speak of mille-feuille, in the United Kingdom of a cream slice or vanilla slice, and in Germany you see variants like Cremeschnitte or Blätterteigschnitte. What all these versions have in common? The challenge in processing as well as the delicious taste.

Tompoucen cremeslices cremeslice cremeschnitten millefeuille cutting snijden