Meet Switzerland’s first female bread sommelier

Published on December 12, 2025

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Swissinfo
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Gabi Meier is Switzerland’s first female bread sommelier – and the first woman to join Basel’s historic bakers’ guild. In her bakery in Basel’s Neubad neighbourhood, Meier shapes 150 small, elongated dough pieces with swift, precise movements. They will become "Grättimänner", as they are called locally. The 42-year-old has been working with dough since childhood and now runs the family bakery in its third generation. The bakery and café employ 14 people. Although Meier trained as a baker, she now spends most of her time in sales and administration after developing an allergy to flour dust. She originally wanted to become an architect. But when her father fell ill, she changed course and took over the bakery. She has been managing the business since the age of 18. She has never regretted that choice. “It was the best decision I could have made,” she says. “The best thing is the smell of fresh bread in the morning and the crispy crust when it comes out of the oven.” Her passion also ... Full story here Are you the author?

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SWI swissinfo.ch – the international service of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Since 1999, swissinfo.ch has fulfilled the federal government’s mandate to distribute information about Switzerland internationally, supplementing the online offerings of the radio and television stations of the SBC. Today, the international service is directed above all at an international audience interested in Switzerland, as well as at Swiss citizens living abroad.

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