2017 Baker y Congress
Trade Show & Conference
DIGITAL WRAP-UP
HEADLINE
BRIAN HARTZ
In April, the Baking Association of Canada (BAC) brought its Bakery Congress trade show back to Vancouver, and the 2017 edition was highlighted by a spectacular change of scenery.
In past years, Bakery Congress had been held in suburban areas in the Vancouver region, including Burnaby and the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) grounds on East Hastings Street. For 2017, the BAC decided to move the show to the Vancouver Convention Centre, in the very heart of the city’s downtown waterfront district.
The decision was met with enthusiasm, to say the least, said BAC president and CEO Paul Hetherington.
“The floor show was completely sold out; we even had a waiting list,” he said. “That was a first for us.”
Hetherington said BAC predicted that moving the show from the PNE, where it was held in 2013, to downtown Vancouver would prompt more interest from exhibitors and attendees alike. Turns out, they were right: Attendance jumped by 25 per cent, Hetherington said, and there was a 35 per cent uptick in the number of independent retail bakers who attended the show.
About 2,200 people participated in the two-day event.
}“Anecdotally, the feedback we received from attendees was very positive,” Hetherington said.
As mentioned above, exhibitors also turned out in force for Bakery Congress. The trade show floor featured 117 companies hailing from seven different countries. “By coming downtown, we thought the show would inspire far more interest,” Hetherington said. The show floor was sold out.
The only hiccup, if you can even call it that, was the Vancouver Sun Run
NEW SETTING BRINGS SUCCESS
mini-marathon on Sunday, April 23 – the first day of the show. “We thought that would have an impact on us, but no, it didn’t,” Hetherington said, adding that the
One of the VIU students came up with a great food product and an exhibitor walked up and offered them a job right there on the spot.
close proximity of affordable downtown accommodation contributed to the event’s smooth logistics. The official hotels for Bakery Congress 2017 were the Coast Coal Harbour Hotel, at 1180 W. Hastings St., and the Pinnacle Hotel Vancouver Waterfront, at 1133 W. Hastings St. Both are located mere minutes, by foot, from the convention centre.
“We wanted accommodation that would be within walking distance of the event while respecting the pocketbook of our
customers,” Hetherington said. “From a convenience perspective, it was great. The locations worked very well for us, even though we experienced some drizzle.”
Indeed, rain is an inescapable part of life in Vancouver, but once attendees and exhibitors made their way into the hall, the setting couldn’t have been more pleasant and comfortable. Bakery Congress 2017 included a feature and demo area that was busy from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., on both days of the show, with presentations by students and faculty from Vancouver Island University (VIU) and Vancouver Community College (VCC).
“The demo area was busy all the time, which was fun to see,” Hetherington said. “I can’t say enough good things about the efforts by both colleges – they both did a great job.”
The presenters included Leanne
Bakery Congress moved to Vancouver’s downtown waterfront for 2017 | BY
From left: Liesbet Vandepool, Tony Amaro, Philip Oxford, and Jelena Vrbaski of Puratos Canada.
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Baker y Congress 2017
Bentley, Kimberly Tada, and Wolfgang Dauke, all of VCC, as well as VIU’s David Nolan, Martin Barnett, Ken Harper, and Christine Godlonton.
“One of the really fun parts about it,” Hetherington recalled, “is that one of the VIU students came up with a great food product and an exhibitor walked up and offered them a job right there on the spot.”
SEEN AND HEARD ON THE SHOW FLOOR
Speaking of VIU students, two of them – Eve Barrieau and India Parhar –stopped by the Bakers Journal booth to help us cut the cake that was made to celebrate Kimberley City Bakery, the winner of our 2017 Jake the Baker Award. Barrieau and Parhar, members of the university’s class of 2017, also shared with us their thoughts about Bakery Congress and what they learned by attending the show.
“Before coming here, I didn’t understand the depth of the industry,” Parhar said. “There are so many bigger aspects to it, like the wholesalers, the people who make all of the machinery, food scientists … this has really opened my eyes to how big the baking industry is. We don’t necessarily get to go these because of the alternating locations, so were lucky that it just so happened to occur here during the year that we are graduating.”
Barrieau added, “Honestly, I’ve enjoyed all of the free stuff. It seems like every booth is giving away free scrapers, or spatulas, or something that’s incredibly useful for us students. I think I’ve gotten about eight scrapers so far! I’m set! But I’ve also enjoyed meeting and talking with everybody, and making connections … it’s really nice knowing that there’s a lot of work out there for bakers. I felt a bit nervous about it for a while … wondering if I would be able to get a good job.”
Both women agreed that the Bentley’s demo, titled “Molecular Gastronomy in Plated Desserts,” was their favourite presentation of the weekend. “Yeah, I feel like my mouth went on a little experience that it hadn’t been on before,” Barrieau said. “It was like, ‘Wow, what is that?’ One of the dishes was made with hibiscus flour and goat cheese, and I was like, ‘Whaaa?’ And then there was a maple-bacon-marshmallow dessert, and bleu-cheese chocolate, and sourdough truffles …”
As Barrieau noted, one of the best parts of Bakery Congress is walking the show floor and getting to know fellow members of the baking industry. Many people traveled a long way to attend the show, and it was great fun finding out why they’d come and learning about their businesses.
For example, Donna Reiser of Bay State Milling Co. came all the way from Quincy, Mass. “I’m here at the Bakery Congress to check out all of the exhibitors and the marketplace and see if it’s worthwhile for Bay State Milling to join the Baking Association of Canada and get involved in the Canadian market,” she said. “This is my first time in Vancouver. It was a long trip, but it’s beautiful. I just wish the sun was out a little bit more!”
Denver, Colo.-based Ardent Mills –the gold sponsor of the Jake the Baker Award – was represented by marketing manager Elaine O’Doherty and key account manager Ryan Burge. O’Doherty was excited to be introducing the Ardent Mills brand to the western Canadian market. The company, which combines the operations of ConAgra Mills and Horizon Milling, was launched in 2014 and was not part of the previous
Vancouver edition of Bakery Congress.
“We have some products at the show made with organic whole wheat flour,” O’Doherty said. “Also, we have our North American-grown quinoa. It’s a new grain, a new product for us.”
Bakery equipment manufacturer G. Cinelli-Esperia Corp., on the other hand, is no stranger to Bakery Congress, having been in business since 1972. Sales manager Albert Cinelli was at the event to showcase the company’s innovative new products, such as its ciabatta machine.
“It has a stress-free divider and ultra-sonic cutting blade,” Cinelli said. “It’s good for doughs that contain an absorption of 80-plus per cent. It’s very versatile in that respect. It can put the small operator immediately into a wholesale range of production without having to actually spend exorbitant amounts of money to do so.”
There were plenty of baked goods available to sample, of course. Joao and Elisangela Molinari of Brazil Stuff Ltd. brought plenty of their delicious Brazilian cheese rolls to hand out to hungry Bakery Congress attendees. “We started the company last year, so it’s our first time here, and it’s been very good so
Vancouver Island University baking and pastry arts students – and soon to be graduates – Eve Barrieau and India Parhar.
far,” Joao Molinari said. “I like it.” In addition to the cheese rolls, the company also imports and distributes frozen, ready-to-eat acai berries; most of its customers are coffee shops and bakeries, Molinari added.
Also attending Bakery Congress in Vancouver for the first time was Glenn Janzen, an independent baker from Black Creek, B.C, who owns and operates Alderlane Farmhouse Bakery.
“We’re a little overwhelmed – this is on a scale that’s more than we do,” he said. “But it’s greatly informative, seeing all of the products out there and attending the workshop sessions. We’ve been in business 14 years, but we have just one venue we retail out of, and that’s the Comox Valley Farmers’ Market, our local farmers’ market. Every week we go set up, tear down, and sell a bunch of stuff. I’m a carpenter by trade, but my wife is a stay-at-home mom and started baking and selling her baked goods to some of the local schools. It just got bigger from there and we started selling at the farmers’ market about 14 years ago, and
we’ve never looked back.”
It was fascinating to learn more about attendees’ businesses and their career paths.
Zia Arfaee, owner/operator of Zia’s Café & Grille in Richmond, B.C., attended the show along with colleagues Trina Chan and Sama Arfaee, his son. “We’ve been in business for about five years,” he said. “Before that, I had a painting company, then I was a flooring salesman. I was in the food industry about 30 years ago, and then I saw this opportunity to get back into it.”
Chan added, “I also have a background in the food industry, but left for a while and then decided to come back after meeting Zia. We have the café, but we also do catering. We do weddings, full Persian-style weddings. It’s been a great experience to learn all about the different foods and spices from the Middle East. We’re here at Bakery Congress because we’re looking for ideas and equipment to help us grow and expand.”
One of the newest big ingredient
companies in the Canadian market, IREKS North America, was represented by Maurice van Tongeren and Jurri van den Broek. The company was formed in late 2016 when it bought out Brampton, Ont.-based Lentia Enterprises Ltd.
“We are in 96 countries worldwide, but this is the ‘last frontier’ for us,” van Tongeren said. “Here at the show, we are launching a spelt-and-honey product – it’s a big trend in Europe that we see coming to Canada as well. We are also very strong in vegan and gluten-free products, which is something a lot of people are looking for these days. We have a wide variety of gluten-free options, from white bread and multi-seed and more.”
Van Tongeren added, “For a regional show, this is quite big. Everybody is here, and customers are here, as well.”
The next BAC trade show is Bakery Showcase, which will be held from April 29-30, 2018, at the International Centre in Mississauga, Ont (just down the street from Toronto’s Pearson airport).
For more information, visit http:// www.baking.ca. / BJ
FROM THE FLOOR
From left: Sama Arfaee, Trina Chan, and Zia Arfaee of Zia’s Café & Grille in Richmond, B.C.
Jurri van den Broek and Maurice van Tongeren of IREKS North America.
From left: Hanna Racine, Joanna Shultz, and Cadence Smith of Pikanik, a gluten-free bakery in Surrey, B.C., which won the 2016 Jake the Baker Award and made the cake for this year’s winner, Kimberley City Bakery.
Mike and Riley Boudreau of Technology Brewing Corp., who displayed their artisan bakery robot invention via virtual-reality goggles.
Ardent Mills marketing manager Elaine O’Doherty, left, with 2017 Jake the Baker Award winners Eric and Michelle Forbes of Kimberley City Bakery in Kimberley, B.C. Ardent Mills was the platinum plus sponsor of the Jake the Baker Award competition this year, while Reiser was the gold sponsor.
Joao and Elisangela Molinari of Brazil Stuff Ltd.
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