WEST ALLIS, Wis. — On August 10, the Wisconsin State Fair celebrated 100 years of its famous cream puffs. The event, called the “Cream Puff Lovin’ Celebration,” honored the Kremer family, who started the cream puff tradition.
In 1924, Governor John Blaine asked food inspector Charles Kremer to create a food item to showcase Wisconsin’s dairy industry. Charles Kremer’s family owned a bakery in Milwaukee.
Phil Kremer, who worked with his sisters Marie and Emily in the family bakery, reminisced about the past: “In the 50s and 60s, we did everything by hand. We cut the shells and whipped the cream ourselves. There were only four of us back then, and now look at how big it has become.”
The Wisconsin State Fair and the Wisconsin Bakers Association run the Original Cream Puff Bakery. During the fair, about 200 employees work daily to make and sell nearly 30,000 cream puffs each day.
Saturday was the last day for specialty-flavored cream puffs this year. On Sunday, the final day of the fair, only the original cream puff will be available.