The Biggest Bakery Show in the World (Part 2)

The bakery expo as a whole was great, but what really kept me coming back tirelessly day after day was the iba cup 2009. It is a baking competition of different countries, each represented by two chosen bakers or pastry chefs to show off their talent in making a set of baked products. The competition's list includes breads, small baked products, fine yeast dough pastries, danish pastries, puff pastry products and a showpiece.

Take a look at these photos from the competition and you will truly see the wonders of the bakery world.

The following are the showpiece/artistic breads entered from the respective countries:

Japan

Italy

Ireland

France

China


Switzerland


Russia


Poland


Korea

All products in the competition are made from ingredients frequently used in bakeries or pastry shops. Food coloring is not allowed, which means that the chefs had to improvise by using other edible ingredients to attain their desired colors.



European breads like the baguette, ciabatta, rye bread and other lean (no sugar) doughs are nice to look at, but as I see it, what really caught the attention of the people (aside from the showcase) are the danish pastries and small baked products. So here are the ones which are worthy enough for your eyes to feast on.

Japan

Switzerland

Russia

Poland

China

France

No, staring at them long enough won't make it come to life... :)

The Biggest Bakery Show in the World (Part 1)

Dusseldorf, Germany - Every three years, thousands of people gather in Germany to acquaint themselves with the newest trends and innovations in the world of baking. "Iba", the leading international trade fair for bakery and confectionery trade, was held for a whole week early this month.

There were over a thousand exhibitors from all over the globe who used this golden opportunity to showcase their newest products. The iba occupied nine of the seventeen interconnected event areas with each one similar to the size of the World Trade Center in Pasay City, one of the country's biggest exhibition halls today.

Being there for the first time since I entered the baking industry, I was amazed with the size of the venue, the number of people who attended, and of course, the beautiful showcases of products by the exhibitors.

I was curious on how our suppliers were doing, so I made it a point to see them on the very first day of my visit in the expo. My first stop was Demarle, I knew that my eyes were in for a treat. So I was wondering, with the talented cast of chefs who work hand in hand with them, what mouth-watering treats could they have in display?

Here are some of the pastries in their showcase:












What a surprise! Pascal Tepper, who demonstrated in the Sonlie Baking Center this June, was there making the display.





Next stop, Martin Braun. With their wide range of premixes, my expectations from them were quite high. Sure enough, they didn't let me down with these pastries in their showcase:

I hope you didn't view the pictures with an empty stomach. :)

Vases of Luck and Pavo Mehndi

I was at the launching of the Pastry Alliance of the Philippines at Enderun College in the Fort, Taguig just last week. If you haven't heard of them, the Pastry Alliance of the Philippines or PAP, is an organization of chefs, suppliers, or simply anyone in the baking/food industry which started last November 2008. Less than a year later, their talented cast of chefs have already placed the Philippines on the map with eight medals won in Hong Kong just this May.

There were two items displayed which are definite eye catchers that night. These were the ones entered in their latest pastry competition just early this month in Bangkok, Thailand. The Vases of Luck and the Pavo Mehndi. Fortunately, both were brought back home in one piece.

Vases of Luck

This vase not only has luck, but also talent screaming out loud. The creator, none other than the well known cake designer Penk Ching, made the Vases of Luck using only gum paste (yes it's edible... or was). It was showcased in the 'Pastry Showpiece' event which earned her a silver medal.

The vase had intricate details all over.

One of its most interesting features is the black vase hidden inside. Yes, a vase inside another one! To add to that, the inner vase can actually be rotated. It is food, art and engineering all combined to make one masterpiece! I was really tempted to give it a spin. :)

Pavo Mehndi

The Pavo Mehndi is an Indian inspired cake, with the peacock as the country's national bird. It is made by none other than Chef Peachy Juban, who currently teaches at the College of St. Benilde's School for Hotel and Restaurant Institution Management. The very likable chef entered it in the event "Dress the Cake" where she had only two hours to finish it. The most challenging part is that only the cake base itself was allowed to be pre-made prior to the event. Molding, applying of colors, and making the frosting itself had to be done right then and there in two hours time. With no entry awarded with a gold or a silver, its bronze medal shows that it is in fact, the best dressed cake in the event.

Once again, detail played a key factor in making this entry truly one of a kind.

Without a doubt, this is just the start of a great journey ahead for the Pastry Alliance of the Philippines. So I'm giving the countries out there a fair warning, we'll conquer Asia first, and then the world! Mabuhay ang pinoy! :)