The team from Brasserie were there.
Chris, from Fuel Bakery,
and myself walked around and basically just bumped into people. Artisan
baking is important, but still not a major source of revenue for the
majority of exhibitors at the show. The most artisan-focused
manufacturers at the show were MIWE and Australian Bakery and Pizza (Pavailler). It was great talking with representatives who were actually interested in what you were doing.
Both Chris and I missed the finals of the Master Baker of The Year competition. I was actually in the stadium at the time but forgot all about it. However I do know that these bakers are absolutely the best at what they do. The competition is run by the Baking Industry Association (BIA), and sponsored by a large manufacturer of food fat (EOI). Artisan fermentation methods are not a big feature of these competitions.
With some (already noted) exceptions, I left feeling that the trade show still evolves around old-school Australian baking. Sure there is money to be made in fast baking methods, but I had hoped that the motivations of younger, artisan inspired bakers would have been more highly represented.
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