Russo's 2015 Transit
THE 2015 TRANSIT WORKS
AS HARD AS YOU DO
FRANCE AND FAMILY: Thobors’ secret to success.
BY COLLEEN CROSS
CREATURE COMFORTS
The red-hot trend of comfort food with a twist suggests people want to have it all. They want what feels familiar and safe – but they also enjoy the playfulness of trying something new.
It seems chefs everywhere are offering variations on traditional foods that satisfy three elements: people’s craving for the familiar, a chef’s own culinary creativity and the customer’s sense of adventure. One example is Jamie Oliver’s newest book of recipes, Jamie’s Comfort Food, which riffs on classic feel-good foods like sticky toffee pudding.
This nostalgia for food may be less a trend than an abiding and deep-seated truth. Marc Halperin of QSR magazine articulated how the notion has taken hold since the early 1990s: “It seems safe to say that after two bubbles, three recessions, and about 20 years of repeated refreshing and reinvention, the comfort-food trend is not so much a trend at all, but rather a permanent feature.”
The term “comfort food,” coined in 1977 by Webster’s Dictionary, unites a physiological craving for what makes the body feel good with a psychological need to summon a sense of home in an irresistible marriage.
However, like a Rorschach drawing, the concept calls to mind different things for different people. To some, it’s mac and cheese or a hearty stew. To others, it’s a chocolate bar or a cinnamon bun. A study commissioned by the Illinois Council for Agricultural Research and published in Physiology & Behavior divides preferences between males and females, noting that men prefer savoury comfort foods while women prefer sweet.
This broadening of scope is a good thing for bakeries and cafés. It suggests that while no one product will appeal to all customers, every product has the potential to satisfy body and soul.
}While no one product will appeal to all customers, every product has potential to satisfy body and soul.
The key is consistency. It’s something every business strives for and it’s something bakers have in spades. As bakers, you understand the importance of using the same high-quality ingredients in the same quantities, baked at the same temperature, to achieve the same delicious – and more importantly, anticipated – results. You also know it’s important to keep your bakery’s tried-and-true recipes alive as trends come and go.
Your customers know that, too, and that’s why they keep coming back. In a sense, their desire for comfort food is putting a warmer spin on the adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
To stave off boredom, consider adding a twist. Something as simple as using a different variety of cheese in your cheese buns or offering a gluten-free cinnamon bun may be enough to appeal to a customer’s sense of adventure or desire for higher-quality or healthier products.
And customers of all ages are gaining new appreciation for old favourites like bread pudding, so you should appreciate them as well. It’s important to share the stories behind your bakery’s tried-and-true specialties with your customers.
With this issue, we aim to help you prepare for winter. In our cover story, “Cold Comfort” on page 22, we delve into the comfort foods of the year and look at ways bakeries can survive – and even thrive – during the long, and likely harsh, Canadian winter. Alice Sinia provides tips on winterizing your bakery (page 20) and our new products section offers gift ideas for bakers (page 8).
We wish you the best of the season! / BJ
DECEMBER | VOL. 74, NO. 10
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¦
briefly | ICC offers up Canadian scholarships; Industry loses a well-known baker; Chocolatiers show off their mad skills in Vancouver / FOR MORE baking news, check out our website www.bakersjournal.com
‘Beyond
3:30’ highlights child hunger
A bakery, a foundation and a school board have teamed up to help keep kids in Toronto well fed and busy after school hours.
Toronto’s ACE Bakery is supporting the Toronto Foundation for Student Success (TFSS) program called “Beyond 3:30,” a free, after-school initiative with a goal to raise $15,000. George Weston Ltd. will match every dollar raised by ACE Bakery, which could raise the total to $30,000.
This free after-school program is offered at 16 Toronto middle schools between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m., a time that kids between the ages of 11 and 14 are often at their most vulnerable. The program offers homework support, a healthy meal, sports and other opportunities that are often “out of reach” for families facing poverty issues.
As part of the campaign this year, ACE has paired up with the foundation for Feed Tomorrow Week. During one week in October, student volunteers, school board staff, TFSS supporters, politicians and public figures helped raise awareness and collected pledges to help feed Toronto’s hungry students.
On Oct. 9, the bakery hosted its first Six-Foot Sandwich Snackdown for all Beyond 3:30 students at Carleton Village Junior and Senior Public School in Toronto. Students worked together to create the ultimate snack atop six-foot baguettes supplied by ACE Bakery.
Chocolatiers strut their skills
Beta5 Chocolates, Christophe Morel and The Violet Chocolate Company were among the winners of the International Chocolate Awards 2014 Canadian national competition.
The competition, held in Vancouver in October, saw repeat performances from Vancouver’s Beta5 Chocolates and Montreal’s Christophe Morel. Two Edmonton companies, The Violet Chocolate Company and Sweet Lollapalooza, won medals in several categories.
The Violet Chocolate Company picked up a gold medal for its rosemary-honey bar. Similarly, Christophe Morel’s Palet Or held onto its gold-medal status for the third year in a row. And on the heels of its gold-medal win at the 2013 World Finals, Beta5 Chocolates’ Fisherman’s Friend garnered a gold at this year’s competition.
The contest welcomed new companies to the awards podium, including Vancouver’s Temper Chocolate & Pastry, Edmonton’s Cococo Chocolatiers, Gusto Chocolate from Maple Ridge, B.C., Miss Chocolat from Hull, Que., and Hummingbird Chocolate from Mississippi Mills, Ont.
This year’s event was marked by savoury flavours such as lemon-dill, honey-roasted carrot, and habanero salt. The Canadian winners can enter the world finals in London, where they will compete against the winners of the European and Americas semi-final rounds.
ICC offers Canadian scholarships and unique contest
Aspiring Canadian bakers may apply for a scholarship to the International Culinary Center in New York City. And they can tweet for a chance to meet The Dessert Lady’s Mandy Kan.
As of 2014, the school’s alumni list included 100 Canadian graduates. To mark that milestone, ICC launched its Canada Scholarship, worth up to $5,000.
In October, representatives from the ICC were in Toronto to promote their programs and the Canadian scholarship at the Recruit in Canada Fair, and Canadian graduates met for an alumni event at the Drake Hotel.
“As a graduate, I can attest first-hand to the exceptional nature of ICC’s programs,” said Leland Scruby, director of international and career services and associate dean of students at ICC, in a news release. “We have excellent programs, and many of the one-hundred Canadian graduates we have worked with to date have gone on to successful careers. I’m looking forward to meeting potential new Canadian ICC grads in Toronto and sharing with them all that our school has to offer.”
To spread the word about the Canada scholarship and ICC’s presence at the fair, ICC is hosting a social media contest. To enter, eligible Canadians may simply tweet or Instagram a culinary image
Canadian International Culinary Center graduates meet for an alumni event at Toronto’s Drake Hotel. From left are the ICC’s Leland Scruby, Michael Kim, Gina Novak, Luke Donato, Shahin Kamali, Shahir Massoud, Robyn Sinclair, Christine Moody, Jennifer Bartoli, Suzanne Cooke, Mai Nguyen-Huu, Patricia Kim, Elizabeth Widyawardhana (incoming student), Josée Legault and Kaitlin Wayne.
using the contest hashtag #ICCLovesCanada. The photos should be of an inspirational dish: one that the entrant has made or would like to make. One winner in the Toronto area will have the opportunity for a “meet and greet” with ICC grad chef Mandy Kan of The Dessert Lady bakery. Applicants interested in ICC’s Canada
Scholarship must submit a 500-word written essay or five-minute video describing their passion and goals for applying to their chosen program of study.
For more information, visit www.internationalculinarycenter.com.
Baking industry loses innovative baker, manufacturer
The Canadian baking industry has lost one of its pioneers. Guido Cinelli, founder of G. Cinelli – Esperia Corporation, a well-known manufacturer of bakery equipment in Woodbridge, Ont., passed away during the summer at age 83.
Cinelli immigrated to Canada from Calabria, Italy, in 1953, landing in Halifax and travelling to Toronto to be with his eldest brother. He attended George Brown College, gaining certification in both baking and mechanical engineering while working full time to support his growing family.
He began his career as a baker for Home Bread Bakery-Hunts Women’s Bakery, which changed its name to Levy’s Bread Bakery, circa 1976. He helped grow the bakery from four to 400 employees by the time he officially retired in 1977.
“By that time, he could recite over 104 scratch recipes by memory,” says his son Albert Cinelli, managing director and sales and marketing manager at Cinelli – Esperia. Known as the “Kaiser King,” Cinelli was always proud to state that all products were made from scratch even at an industrial scale for such clients as major
airlines and large U.S. hamburger chains.
When the bakery faced closure, Cinelli’s employer encouraged him to follow his true passion within the bakery equipment field. “This eventually proved to be the perfect marriage of talents: machines for a baker from a baker who was a mechanical genius,” says Albert.
In 1971, with the support of his wife Lidia, Cinelli launched what is now known as G. Cinelli – Esperia Corporation. They started the business part time, renting 500 square feet of space in North York, Ont., and importing equipment. Their children would eventually join the family business.
For Cinelli, there was always time to do things right. “The current buzzwords ‘slow food,’ ‘artisan,’ ‘natural’ and ‘local’ were words he never used: they were the reality he lived; it simply was the way he did things,” says Albert.
Cinelli introduced new and innovative machines that are now industry standards, says Albert. “We owe him and people like him that have come before us a debt of gratitude for paving the way in this great industry of ours.”
¦ holiday gift guide ¦
From pins and pans to baguette bakers and bannetons, Bakers Journal presents a selection of holiday gift ideas for the serious baker. FOR MORE on new products for the baking industry, check our website, www.bakersjournal.com
Ceramic baguette baker
Bake some artisanal French baguettes this season. This ceramic Baguette Baker from Emile Henry, made in France from Burgundy clay, bakes three baguettes approximately 13½ inches long by 2¼ inches wide. The product traps steam from the baking bread to create an environment similar to a steam-injected oven, and this steam gives the bread a crunchy, golden crust and a chewy interior. And it even comes with a recipe book!
• www.emilehenry.com/ien/home
Let your creativity blossom
Bring the “outdoors” inside with Nordic Ware’s Blossom Bundt pan. Its “petals” will capture a dusting of confectioner’s sugar or drizzled glaze for a dazzling effect. The heavy-walled, non-stick, aluminum pan helps baked goods rise evenly and cook uniformly. Its conduction is meant to improve cake crust and to produce better shapes and finer details than ordinary pans.
• www.nordicware.com
Chemical-free proofing cloths
The Bakers Couche from Deren, a French company that specializes in proofing cloths, is made of 100 per cent flax linen that has not undergone chemical treatment. The cut-pile cloth comes in rolls of approximately 20 metres each and is available in various sizes. The couche is suitable for a variety of applications, including organic bread and pizza dough. It can also be personalized with a woven inscription.
• www.bakerscouche.com
Sweet tables by Pusateri’s
If a big impact or a lasting impression is what you’re after for your holiday celebration, Pusateri’s sweet tables will make it happen. Complete with flowers and decor, they’re as breathtakingly gorgeous as they are deliciously scrumptious.
• https://shop.pusateris.com/confectionary_corner
Comfort food cookbook
Any baker who is a child at heart will enjoy the Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook. Within its pages, bakery founder Christina Tosi shares recipes for her innovative, addictive goodies from the popular New York City bakery (which now has a location in Toronto). The trendy tome features 100 colour photos and shares recipes for bakery’s trademark compost cookie, crack pie, cereal milk ice cream and easy layer cakes. http://milkbarstore.com
Cosy crocheted banneton
This crocheted banneton is a cosy way to proof your loaves. Created by Masterproofing, the bannetons come in a range of shapes, sizes and materials. The company also fulfils custom orders. The bannetons are designed to comply with EU requirements on materials and articles that come into contact with food. • www.masterproofing.com
Waffles: not just for breakfast anymore
Ditch the apple crumble and prep an indulgent make-your-own waffle bar for dessert this season. All-Clad’s 4-Slice Belgian Waffle Maker offers advanced heating technology to ensure perfectly consistent baking and browning, and its steam-release system prevents condensation build-up as waffles bake. Plus, a non-stick finish ensures effortless release and easy clean-up. • www.all-clad.ca
Dual-purpose revolving turntable
A professional turntable can help you achieve a perfectly smooth cake. This newest design from NY Cake features a tempered glass top that doubles as a cake pedestal. It is 12 inches wide by 4 inches high and will definitely rock your best cakes! • www.nycake.com
JULIE FITZ-GERALD
A FAMILY PASSION FOR BAKING
Paris has long been known as a city where passion and indulgence reign; where chic patrons flock to bakery cafés for hand-crafted baguettes, rich French pastries and artisanal chocolates. But one does not have to travel to Paris for a truly French experience. Torontonians can find one right in their own backyard. Thobors Boulangerie Patisserie Café, located at 627 Mount Pleasant Road, in Toronto’s Davisville Village,
The Vendôme (left) is made with sweet paste, almond cream, white chocolate and lemon cream and pistachios. The Flandrin (right) is made up of 58 per cent dark chocolate mousse with an almond dacquoise and chocolate praline crunch.
has media talking and customers flocking for an authentic Parisian experience.
Named best baguette in Toronto by Toronto Life for the past five years and snagging BlogTO’s “Best baguette in Toronto” for 2014, Thobors is making a name for itself. Co-owners Marc and Sylvie Thobor, along with their three children – Jimmy, 27, Shanice, 22, and Marcsy, 18 – emigrated from Paris to Toronto in 2005 when Marc took a position as master baker at Le Comptoir de
Celestin. In 2008, the owners of Le Comptoir were looking to sell and the Thobors saw an opportunity. “When we moved to Canada we never expected to buy a business so fast,” Sylvie explains.
With Marc’s passion for bread and Sylvie’s business savvy, the pair’s success is not surprising. At age 16, Marc knew that he wanted to spend his life working with bread. “I don’t have family in the bakery. I just learned everything from some good people, some chefs in France
and they gave me the passion. I apprenticed for three years and got my diploma,” he says. He continued to hone his craft in several of Paris’s traditional boulangeries and trained under Parisian master pastry chef Pascal Flandrin, improving his skill and talent. Marc’s baking is a combination of knowledge and feeling, where ingredients and passion meet. When he arrived in Toronto, he quickly discovered that baking in this new climate required some adjustments.
Thobors
“When we moved here,” says Sylvie, “the first hot, humid season the dough was poofing everywhere and he’s like, ‘I don’t understand,’ but now we know! You have to adapt yourself to where you are in the world.”
Marc adapted his technique to deal with Toronto’s fluctuating climate, baking award-winning bread for scores of satisfied customers. Thobors’ best-selling baguette is the plain baguette, with sesame seed coming in at No. 2 and a seven-grain baguette coming in at No. 3. It was Thobors’ seven-grain baguette that was voted best baguette in the city by Toronto Life in 2013. But bread is just half of this bakery’s appeal.
Speaking with Sylvie, an accredited pastry chef and accomplished chocolatier, one would never suspect that the bakery is her second career. She previously ran a hair-styling business for 27 years. When she and Marc decided to buy Thobors, she was ready for a new challenge. “I quit my job to help out, but I didn’t want to just
}When Marc and Sylvie decided to buy the bakery in 2008, they did so as a family. They moved the location one door north from where its predecessor, Le Comptoir, was originally located and changed the name to Thobors Boulangerie Patisserie Café. With Shanice as store manager, Marcsy assisting her mom with chocolate-making and Jimmy helping out when he can, every family member has a role.
Pascal Flandrin, whom she credits with sparking her passion for chocolate-making.
“I’m the proof that everything is possible. I hear so many people say, ‘I’m 45 and it’s too late to change and do that.’ When I got my diploma I was 43 and now I have half of my career as a hair stylist and the other half as a pastry chef. I remember that when I
“We try to have everything that you can find in France: bread, pastries and chocolates. . . . We have a selection similar to what you find in France.”
be the baker’s wife, selling bread. So we decided I should go back to France and train there,” Sylvie explains. She returned to Paris where she earned her pastry chef diploma and trained with several of Paris’s celebrated pastry chefs. Sylvie attended the renowned Cacao-Barry Chocolate Academy in Paris and also won a Concours de la Meilleure Patisserie, Chef d’entreprise 2010 award at the prominent Paris pastry competition. In 2012 she was fortunate enough to train with two of France’s top pastry chefs, Stephane Glacier and Stephane Leroux, as well as with the same master pastry chef as Marc,
flew to Paris I thought, ‘What if I don’t like it? What if I don’t want to do it?’ But chef [Flandrin] gave me the passion.”
As with Marc’s bread, Sylvie’s pastries and chocolates reveal her ardour for the craft. Thobors is the kind of bakery where you can find exquisite chocolates, mouthwatering breads and pastriesgalore, along with bilingual customers often preferring to speak in French. In short, it’s a true Parisian bakery. “What’s really surprising is that when we opened six years ago we had maybe 20 per cent francophone [customers]. Now on busy Saturdays we have more Francophone than Anglo -
phone [customers].”
Marc agrees, adding that Thobors’ customers are what make the bakery so special. Their willingness to try new products and provide feedback has created a reciprocal relationship between baker and patron. “Every time, when Sylvie makes something new or I make a new bread, customers like to try it and then I start to make more,” says Marc.
“We are lucky because we have a really good clientele, both regulars and new people,” adds Sylvie.
Always looking to the future and never afraid of a challenge, Marc and Sylvie are giving serious thought to additional locations; however, it’s not their priority. According to Sylvie, the priority is to maintain the stellar reputation they’ve been building since opening the doors in 2008.
“Expanding to multiple locations is what we’re looking for ... but if in five years we don’t have another location but we have the same reputation, that’s fine by us. We work with opportunities, so let’s see. But we like to be here, we like what we do and we’re really happy with our store. We feel really grateful for that.” / BJ
The green macarons at Thobors are made with green tea matcha; Marc and Sylvie Thobor opened Thobors Boulangerie Patisserie Café in 2008.
¦ concepts for success ¦
BY DIANE CHIASSON
TARGETING THE LUNCH CROWD
With some good merchandising and creativity, you can attract a bigger lunch crowd at your bakery.
According to a recent survey, more than two-thirds of the working population spends an average of $2,000 a year eating out during lunchtime. This is a big market for your bakery to target and capitalize upon. You will not only increase sales by offering a lunch menu, but you will also draw a new set of customers.
Here are eight ways to help attract a bigger crowd during the lunch hours:
1. OFFER A LUNCH DEAL
Most people who go out to eat at lunchtime expect some sort of a meal deal that might include a beverage and/or a dessert for a fixed price. Be sure your bakery offers a special lunch menu that not only highlights the breads you sell in your sandwiches, but also includes a small dessert to give your lunch customers a sample of your delicious treats.
}4. ESTABLISH RELATIONSHIPS WITH YOUR NEIGHBOURS
Walk around your area and introduce yourself and your bakery to other (noncompetitive) shops and businesses. Ask
Most people have less than one hour for their lunch break, so it is important for your bakery to offer fast service at lunch.
questions about their businesses. It is important to establish personal relationships with other business owners in your area. That way, you will be more inclined to support and help each other.
stay-at-home parents with young children who might enjoy a leisurely lunch. Consider creating a special kids’ menu with healthy items on it (i.e., a fruit smoothie) and keeping a stock of small snacks on hand like Cheerios or Goldfish crackers. Have toys, colouring books or a play area to encourage parents to meet up at your bakery for afternoon play dates. Be sure to have high chairs, a changing station and any other items that would make the dining experience more enjoyable for everyone.
8. USE SOCIAL MEDIA
2. OFFER QUICK SERVICE
Most people have less than one hour for their lunch break, so it is important for your bakery to offer fast service. Consider a lunch promotion that guarantees customers will be served their entire order in less than five or 10 minutes. That way, those who are short on time will be more inclined to eat lunch at your bakery.
3. GIVE OUT FREE SAMPLES
If your bakery is new to the neighbourhood, consider bringing free samples of soup, sandwiches and/or coffee to all the local businesses, office buildings and schools; include copies of your menu and stacks of coupons. But don’t just drop off the samples silently. Be funny and gregarious to attract attention so that the next time people are wondering where to go for lunch, they will remember you.
5. OFFER GROUP SPECIALS
People often go out for lunch in large groups to celebrate a co-worker’s birthday or for a lunch meeting. Consider offering a group special, such as a 10 per cent discount, if customers have more than six people in their party.
6. ALLOW CUSTOMERS TO ORDER AHEAD OF TIME
Give customers the ability to pre-order their lunch on your website. Ensure that your site provides a specific and accurate time as to when their order will be ready. Have a separate line in your operation for customers to pick up their food.
7. TARGET STAY-AT-HOME PARENTS
Many businesses often target the workforce or students for their lunch business, but don’t forget about the
Generate a following by offering a different social media deal every day. For example, send out a Twitter message at 11 a.m. saying that the first 20 people who walk through the doors for lunch will receive a free coffee. Or boost your business by rewarding your followers with a 10 per cent discount if they bring a friend for lunch. The power of social media is undeniable and it is an essential tool for marketing your lunch business.
Diane Chiasson, FCSI, president of Chiasson Consultants Inc., has been helping restaurant, foodservice, hospitality and retail operators increase sales for over 30 years. Her company provides innovative and revenue-increasing foodservice and retail merchandising programs, interior design, branding, menu engineering, marketing and promotional campaigns. Contact her toll-free at 1-888-926-6655 or at chiasson@ chiassonconsultants.com, or visit www.chiassonconsultants.com.
Feds Negotiate 10% Reduction in Merchant Credit Card Fees
But are Credit Card Companies laughing all the way to the Bank?
Last month Federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver announced that Visa and MasterCard had agreed to voluntary average reductions in merchant credit card fees of some 10% to an average of 1.5% for a period of five years. The announcement also included an unspecified commitment to provide greater reductions for small and medium sized enterprises and charities. The minister further stated that “These commitments represent a meaningful longterm reduction in costs for merchants that should ultimately result in lower prices for consumers,” Not all agree.
Credit card swipe fees in Canada are some of the highest in the world, with fees ranging from 1.5 per cent to 4 per cent of a transaction’s value, generating some $5 billion annually for the credit card companies and banks. Several jurisdictions have looked at the impact of high credit card fees on merchants and adopted payment sector reforms. In Australia the Reserve Bank of Australia in 2002 capped processing fees at 0.5% and the EU recently set the rate at 0.3%.
In 2013, the federal Competition Tribunal ruled that the excessive fees charged by the two creditcard giants were anti-competitive, and should be reined in by government regulation. In the Feb.14 Budget the government committed to “… work with stakeholders to promote fair and transparent practices and to help lower credit card acceptance costs for merchants, while encouraging merchants to lower prices to consumers” which led to the voluntary reduction announcement.
Small Business Matters Coalition says inadequate fee cut puts Bay Street before Main Street
However, there has been significant criticism of the government’s deal. Small Business Matters Coalition representing more than 90,000 small business retailers (of which BAC is a member) has advised the minister of finance that the announcement of a voluntary reduction in merchant interchange fees to an average effective rate of 1.5% is still well above the 0.5% rate that exists in other jurisdictions. The Coalition also was dubious of the claim that small business retailers are going to see their rates reduced by an average of 10%. The Coalition pointed out that just the week prior to the minister’s announcement payment processor Chase Paymentech sent letters to small business retailers informing them of processing fee increases.
10% reduction in credit cards fees insignificant when they have
gone up
over 25% in under 2 years
In a written statement, Senator Pierrette Ringuette who has introduced a Senate Bill to limit credit card fees, was more blunt: “The negotiated agreement to lower fees by a paltry 10% is practically meaningless; VISA and MasterCard have already increased their fees by over 25% in the past 2 years and Canada will continue to have some of the highest fees in the world.”
While committing to work with the Government to reduce credit card fees the Small Business Matter Coalition reminded the finance minister that excessive credit card swipe fees not only impact small business retailers by constraining them from investing in their businesses or hiring more employees, but also result in higher prices for Canadian consumers whether they use credit cards or cash to make their purchases.
Atlantic Chapter 2014 Year End Review
The Atlantic BAC hockey night took place on Wednesday February 12th at the Halifax Mooseheads game versus the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Thirty-two association members and guests enjoyed a great hockey game in a private VIP Box. The hometown Mooseheads won the game. Next year’s event will take place once again in early spring – March 5th.
The Atlantic BAC golf event was held on Monday Sept 8th at Mountain Woods Golf Club in Moncton. We had a great weather day with lots of sun as over 50 golfers enjoyed golf, a steak dinner and prizing.
Tournament organizers presented for the first time a championship trophy in honour of Greg Snair. Greg passed away earlier this year after a short but courageous battle with cancer. Greg was the principal owner of Snair’s Golden Grain bakery and a longtime figure in the Atlantic baking industry. Greg was an active golfer and had played in the BAC Atlantic tournament many times.
Dave Bryson P&H Milling Group
AtlANtiC ChAptER ChAiR
The championship trophy was presented by Rick Snair and Paul Hetherington to the champions: Mike Raftus and Darrell Chapman, Ardent Mills; Jim Gennoe and Alan MacDonald, BMS Distribution.
The Atlantic golf event’s popularity increases every year. Thanks once again to the sponsors and participants and we look forward to next fall’s annual event.
Ontario Chapter 2014 Year End Review
Chairperson Phillip Lee Wing, The Food Development Group
Vice Chair Phil Robinson, Dawn Foods
Membership Leon Bell, ADM Milling
Treasurer Dieter Claassen, Del’s Pastry
Christmas Social Ira Day, Prosperity Foods
Secretary Stephanie Jewell, Bakers Journal
Social Jean-Charles Madour, Lallemand Distribution Inc.
Education Kate Nugent, Baker Street Bakery
Golf Spring Tom Nowak, Lallemand Distribution Inc.
Golf Fall Dan Peroff, Olympic Wholesale
Members-at-Large
Dennis Rossetti, Italian Home Bakery
Rafal Rusiniak, Handtmann Canada
Frank Safian, P&H Milling Group
Education Kate Tomic, Caldic Canada Inc.
Philippe Trepanier, Handtmann Canada
The end of another year is fast approaching and with most Associations, the volunteers are the ones to be thanked for such an eventful and successful year. The year began with our seminar entitled “Myth Busting! Health and Nutrition” which was presented in January to a well packed room of enthusiastic baking industry attendees.
As with previous years, our members look forward to our social events which include the Night at the Races, our two Golf tournaments and of course our very popular Annual Holiday Social.
phillip lee Wing
The Food Development Group ONtARiO ChAptER ChAiR
This year, our committee members have been engaged in developing and supporting programs which focused on the attraction of college students to the baking industry. An emphasis was placed on exploring baking as a profession and emphasizing retention of personnel in our industry. One of the outcomes of these discussions is our continued financial support of schools in the Ontario region in the form of Scholarships to students enrolled in Baking. This year BAC Ontario Chapter will donate to the Scholarship Fund at Niagara College.
The current 2014 year will also represent the end of term for a few of the current committee members in our Chapter.
BAC Ontario Chapter extends a sincere thank you to the current committee members (2014) for their commitment and dedication to another successful year.
We extend continued success to the incoming committee. A safe and prosperous New Year to all in 2015.
Phillip Lee Wing
The Food Development Group
ONTARIO CHAPTER CHAIR
BC Chapter 2014 Year End Review
I would like to start off by thanking our BAC - BC Chapter, Committee Members for their hard work in helping to promote and strengthen our baking industry:
2013/2014 BC Chapter Committee Members
Chair Gary Humphreys, Ingredients Plus
Vice Chair Tony Llewellyn, Snow Cap
Secretary Christian Mitzel, Qzina (BC Chapter National Board Rep)
Treasurer Randall Winters, RF Bakery Equipment
Entertainment Nicole Higgins, Brenntag Canada
Jesse Lamb, Sunblest Commodities
Membership Sheri Castellarin, Snow Cap
Education David Nolan, Vancouver Island University
Fionna Chong, Vancouver Community College
Past Chair John MacKenzie, Anita’s Organics
Directors at Large Jos Nan, BakeMark Canada
Jack Kuyer, Valley Bakery
Martin Barnett, Vancouver Island University
(BC Chapter National Board Rep)
Our BC mandate is to hold two educational seminars/workshops, and two social events, per year. Here is an overview of 2014:
• We presented our BC pilot project “BC Chapter Junior Affiliate Program” on March 26th, 2014.
SPEAKERS: Gary Humphreys, BAC - BC / Paul Hetherington, BAC - National / Dominique & Cindy Duby - Wild Sweets / Graduate Students – Vancouver Community College / Jack Kuyer – Valley Bakery / Tony Llewellyn – Snow Cap / Dennis Green – go2
• On June 25th, 2014, we put on our annual BAC - BC Chapter Fund Raising Golf Tournament.
• We held our “New Bakery Regulations, Informed Dining, Nutritional Labelling & BC Chapter Elections” Seminar on October 22nd, 2014.
SPEAKERS: Gary Humphreys, BAC - BC / Laura Pasut, BAC - National / Lisa McKellar, BC Government, Public Health Nutrition
• Our Festive Night at the Races was held on November 7th, 2014.
Gary humphreys
Ingredients Plus
BC ChAptER ChAiR
We have put our main focus towards promoting our baking industry, schools, and our students.
Our Chapter believes that our contributions towards baking equipment and student bursaries at Vancouver Community College and Vancouver Island University will play a role in helping to attract quality people to our industry. We also contributed money towards student travel costs to Europain 2014, in Paris, and for our BC Skills Canada Winner (Mandy Leung) to participate in the national competition.
None of this could/would have happened if it were not for our generous “BC Chapter Sponsors” - THANK-YOU:
ADM Milling, Ardent Mills, BakeMark Canada, BC Bakery & Deli Foundation, BC Chefs’ Association, BC Hospitality Foundation, Brenntag Canada, Coldstar Freight, EM Bakery Equipment, Freybe, go2 , Gourmet Baker, Ingredients Plus, Lesaffre Yeast, Maxim Truck & Trailer, Nunweiler’s Flour, P&H Milling, Reliance Foods, RF Bakery Equipment, Richardson Oilseed, Rogers Foods, Semper Foods, Snow Cap, Vanderpol Food Group, Vancouver Community College, Vancouver Island University, Wendel’s True Foods & Weston Bakeries.
We are now working on our upcoming Spring 2015 Educational Seminar. Let’s all have a fun, healthy, safe and prosperous 2015.
Gary Humphreys
Ingredients Plus BC CHAPTER CHAIR
BAKING ASSOCIATION OF CANADA Association canadienne de la boulangerie
Wednesday March 4th, 2015 Scotiabank Centre (Halifax Metro Centre)
Wiser’s Lounge Private Box
Halifax Nova Scotia
Come out and watch the Halifax Mooseheads Play host to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan
Space is limited to 24 seats, please register early!
Agenda
6:00 p.m. Pre Game reception with Hors D’oeuvres
7.00 p.m. Game time
Please fill in the registration form below and return it before February 13th, 2015
Name:
Company:
Address:
Phone: Fax:
Please
Please mail or fax to: Gillian Blakey Baking Association of Canada 7895 Tranmere Drive, Ste. 202, Mississauga, ON L5S 1V9
Tel (888) 674-2253 x 21 Fax (905) 405-0993 gblakey@baking.ca www.baking.ca
BY DR. JOHN MICHAELIDES
THE IMPORTANCE OF ENZYMES
Enzymes have been widely accepted in the baking industry as very valuable tools.
Enzymes play a very important role in our lives. They are present in all biological systems, where they function as mediators for many natural biochemical reactions. They are mainly proteins and are named after the substrate they act on. For example, amylases break down or modify starch, proteases affect proteins, and lipases act on lipids and fats.
Enzymes are widely used in the food industry and have been in many processes for thousands of years. Fermentation processes such as wine, beer and breadmaking, which use yeast and bacteria, rely on the enzymes produced by these micro-organisms. As the role of the enzymes in these processes was revealed over time, they began to be used in various industries to speed up processing reactions.
RUDE ENZYMES
}AMYLASES
There are two major types of amylases: alpha amylases, which break down damaged starch to produce dextrins (short chains of sugar molecules), and beta amylases, which break down the dextrins to form maltose molecules (two glucose units).
In baking, amylases from three major sources are generally used: cereal (which are inherent in wheat and other grains) and fungal or bacterial amylases (produced by various fungi and bacteria). These three types of amylases have different activities and tolerances to temperature and pH, so it is important to be careful when selecting which type to use. For example, if high amounts of bacterial amylases are used in bread, their activity will continue beyond the baking process and the crumb will become sticky and difficult to slice.
Bread-making, which uses yeast and bacteria, relies on the enzymes produced by these micro-organisms.
Enzymes are widely used in the food industry and have been in many processes for thousands of years.
LIPASES
In the baking industry, rude enzymes were initially used in the form of malt barley flour (MBF) and others. MBF is produced from germinating barley seed; although it is mainly an amylase, it is not pure and contains other side activities. As the commercial availability of many other purified forms of enzymes increased, they became important tools for baking processes.
Enzymes are used to improve wheat flour performance, reduce the effect of staling and replace or reduce other unfriendly chemicals used in baking. Amylases reduce the complex starch molecule in flour to smaller groups of glucose units that can be absorbed by the yeast and provide food for the fermentation process. In addition, specialized amylases modify the starch in order to slow down the staling of bread and other baked goods.
Lipases, which are enzymes that either break down or modify fats and lipids, are found in nature and in many cases are responsible for the fat’s oxidation and the onset of rancidity in food products. The lipases found in the kernel are normally dormant until the wheat is milled. In the process of milling, when the germ (containing high amounts of lipids) is separated, lipases become active and as a result will very quickly oxidize the lipids in the germ and produce unpleasant, rancid flavours. For this reason, freshly milled germ has to be consumed within a few days of milling or used as animal feed. The shelf life of the germ can be extended if the fat is removed by chemical solvents and other methods or by careful temperature inactivation exposure of the lipases. Lipases are also used in the industrial processes to modify fats for the production of ingredients. They are used in the production of shortenings from oil without the harmful effect of the partial hydrogenation, which results in the
formation of the undesirable production of high amounts of trans fats. There are many advantages in using enzymes in baked goods. They are often more economical because they are used in minute quantities; they are very easy to use, as most are available in powder form; and they are very precise in controlling reactions. They can contribute to longer shelf life of the product, improve control of grain, reduce mixing time, improve dough tolerance and increase the performance of poor-quality flour.
As with any other ingredient, there are some disadvantages. There is a small risk of overdosing, and handling may induce allergies. In addition, because of the time-dependent reactions, more attention is required. However, the pros far outweigh the cons, and enzymes have been widely accepted by the baking industry as valuable tools. / BJ
For more information, or fee-for-service help with food technical and processing issues and needs, please contact Dr. John Michaelides at John Michaelides Consulting. He can be reached at 519-743-8956, at Bioenterprise at 519-8212960 or by email at j.jmichaelides@gmail.com. Bioenterprise is a company of experienced professionals that coach and mentor emerging agri-technology companies from planning to start-up to profitability and beyond.
ALICE SINIA, PHD
PEST PREVENTION
When the cold weather starts rolling in, you are likely focused on switching up your menu, keeping your energy costs down and finding ways to bring in customers during the winter months. Pest prevention doesn’t usually make the list of priorities, but it should.
While some pests head south to escape the cold, others look for places that offer warmth, shelter, food and water during the winter. Unfortunately, foodservice facilities typically offer plenty of all of these pest survival factors. That’s why it’s important to take steps to winterize your facility to keep pests in their place.
A year-round threat, rodents are most active in colder months and have no qualms about setting up shop in your facility. Not only are these pests repellent, especially in the foodservice industry, but they can also spread dangerous, diseasecausing pathogens. No matter what time of year it is, a rodent infestation will put your company on the fast track to losing business.
COMMON THREATS
The three most common rodents in the foodservice industry are the house mouse, the Norway rat and the roof rat.
}Despite its name, the house mouse is not just confined to homes. It is the smallest of the three common rodents and is defined by dusty grey fur, small eyes and big ears. The house mouse can climb almost anywhere and reproduces rapidly; a typical pregnancy lasts an average of 19 days and can result in as many as eight mice.
The warmth and shelter your facility offers will be enough to draw pests in for the winter, but the food and water they find once inside will keep them there.
less picky about their meals. These omnivorous pests will eat just about anything, so they’ll be attracted to your trash as much as your food offerings.
The Norway rat, the largest in its family, has coarse brown fur with black hairs and has been linked to diseases such as jaundice and murine typhus. This rat gnaws through almost anything to reach food and water, including wiring, which can lead to short circuits and even electrical fires.
Typically black or brown with a long tail, roof rats are smaller than Norway rats but
While rodents are the most familiar and, typically, the most despised winter pest, they’re certainly not the only pests that will be scrounging around your facility looking for a way to get out of the cold. Over the winter, spiders, cluster flies, boxelder bugs, stink bugs and squash bugs all rely on places like yours. These pests are attracted to the odours, food, standing water, warmth and general protection that your facility provides.
PEST PREVENTION
Fortunately, there are steps you can take
to prevent pests from setting up shop in your facility for the winter. First and foremost, you can implement an integrated pest management (IPM) approach. IPM uses proactive sanitation and maintenance steps to mitigate pests’ access to their survival factors, thereby minimizing the potential for an infestation. Your pest management professional will work closely with you to determine a tailored approach, taking into consideration the nature of your business and its location as well as structural and physical attributes that might attract pests.
There are specific sanitation and maintenance steps you can take to help protect your facility against pests in colder weather:
Consider Landscaping: Landscaping can contribute significantly to your facility’s appeal to pests. Rats and mice don’t like to be out in the open and often seek harbourage in shrubs and branches
around buildings. Trim any vegetation surrounding your business back half a metre and consider installing a gravel strip around the perimeter to further deter critters and insects from getting close.
Eliminate/Protect Entrances: Small cracks and crevices on the outside of a building might as well be an open door for pests. Mice can fit through holes the size of your pinky finger, and smaller pests need even less space. Before and throughout the winter, inspect the exterior of your building for any openings, seal them with a weather-resistant sealant, and add steel wool for an extra layer of protection against rodents that can gnaw through other materials.
Entrances and exits to your building are easy targets for pests eager to get to the warmth and shelter inside. Keep doors closed whenever possible and consider installing automatic doors where appropriate. If you have designated shipping and receiving areas, plastic strip curtains can help deter pests. Also, make sure all shipments are inspected upon arrival for signs of pests such as gnaw marks.
Clean and Store Properly: With so many tasty treats inside your facility, properly storing ingredients in pest-proof containers and off of the floor is critical. You should also have a written sanitation plan that includes specific roles and responsibilities and includes a daily cleaning routine. The warmth and shelter your facility offers will be enough to draw pests in for the winter, but the food and water they find once inside will keep them there.
Sweep, mop and vacuum floors regularly to eliminate any
crumbs and debris that make great meals for pests. Create a deep-clean schedule to clean behind and under heavy equipment and hard-to-reach areas. Dirt and grime can easily accumulate in these areas, which also serve as good hiding places for pests. Any spills should be cleaned up immediately. Work with your staff to make sure employee break areas are kept clean and uncluttered.
Ingredients should be stored in tightly sealed, plastic containers. Some pests can chew through, or make a meal out of, cardboard and paper packaging. Trashcans within and around your facility should be tightly sealed and emptied regularly, and dumpsters should be placed as far away from your facility as possible.
Enlist Staff: Pest management is a collaborative and continuous process. Your employees make up the front line of the defense against pests and are typically the first to notice signs of pest problems. Heading into the winter season, make sure they’re informed on pests and are on the lookout.
Pests can cause problems for your business year-round. Taking steps to winterize your facility will keep you protected during the colder months when pests are more likely to sneak in unnoticed. Keep pest management a priority this winter to ensure pests don’t start calling your facility “home.” / BJ
Alice Sinia, PhD, manages the quality assurance laboratory for Orkin Canada, performs analytical entomology and provides technical support in pest/insect identification to branch offices and clients.
Email asinia@orkincanada.com or visit www.orkincanada.com.
The ITALIAN BAK e R
Who can resist bruschetta rubbed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil, almond-studded biscotti dipped in coffee or wine, and, of course, a thin-crusted pizza with fresh, sweet tomatoes and tangy mozzarella? These Italian classics that everyone knows and loves are just the beginning; there are a wealth of other equally delicious breads and sweets waiting to be discovered.
In this groundbreaking classic — now thoroughly updated for today’s modern kitchen — Carol Field introduces artisanal doughs and techniques used by generations of Italian bakers. Every city and hill town has its own unique baking traditions, and Field spent more than two years traversing Italy to capture the regional and local specialties, adapting them through rigorous testing in her own kitchen.
The Italian Baker is the only comprehensive book to cover the entire range of Italian baking, from breadsticks and cornetti to focaccia, tarts, cakes, and pastries.
How Canadian bakeries can prepare – and thrive – during the winter months | BY COLLEEN CROSS
COLD COMFORT
Baby, it’s cold outside. So, to warm body and spirit, many people turn to familiar comfort foods, whether sweet or savoury. Bakeries in general are well positioned to meet this need. And Canadian bakeries, in particular, know a thing or two about inclement weather.
So how does the Canadian winter affect bakeries and their customers, and what can bakeries do to make the most of their role as purveyors of comfort?
“We are constantly watching the weather. It affects everything we do as a bakery,” says Sharon Landry, coowner with Doug Huskilson of the Village Harvest Bakery in London, Ont. Bread rises more slowly in the cold weather, says Landry, and people crave carbohydrates.
Saylor Hyde, owner of Mary’s Bakery in Cornwall, P.E.I., also watches the weather closely and says thriving during a Canadian winter requires strategic planning.
“I do find if they are forecasting for a storm, definitely you know you’ll have to make an extra batch of bread or cinnamon rolls because everybody’s banking on it being a storm day the next day and everybody’s going to be home that day,” she says, adding that the bakery sometimes does a crumble pie instead of a traditional pie to mark the change of season.
GETTING READY
}Hyde says her employees don’t really change routines when the cold weather hits. “You end up guessing what people want and ending up with a lot of leftovers,” she says. They make the same breads – just more of them. They also make more biscuits and cinnamon rolls and change up those flavours with the season.
The baking industry doesn’t have to morph into one big pan of granola, but just make sure that they have these portion-sized options.
always available from their local supplier so they build in a time cushion to make sure they have it available for pies.
“We might add a different kind of cheese to the biscuits, mix it up a bit with things like garlic and onions,” says Hyde.
Melanie Monaghan, head baker at Indian Head Bakery in Regina, says she doesn’t change what she does, but plans around the holidays rather than the weather.
Julie Einarson, owner of The Sweet Escape Cake Cafe and Bakery in
Thunder Bay, polls customers to learn their favourite items. “People like fall flavours, pumpkin pies, scones and gingerbread,” she says.
Surviving and thriving during hibernation season also means lining the pantry. Hyde keeps in close touch with her frozen fruit suppliers and stocks up on frozen berries and fruit such as strawberries and rhubarb.
Erinn Weatherbie, co-owner of Kelly’s Bake Shop in Burlington, Ont., keeps on hand key ingredients such as pumpkin and sweet potato, and warming spices such as ginger and cinnamon.
Village Harvest’s Landry echoes the demand for pumpkin, saying it’s not
Einarson highlights a twist on the usual problem of supply exceeding demand. She says she is careful to stock up on molasses; because she uses it in relatively small quantities, she must buy it in advance at the grocery store before it is scooped up by home bakers.
WHAT CUSTOMERS WANT
People go for biscuits, rolls and casseroles, says Hyde. “Anything with spices sells: pumpkin, apple, fruitcake.” Dedicated promotions such as a chocolate and spice month and a sweet chili and lime month went over big at the bakery last year.
Monaghan says sales of pies and cheese buns perk up. “People love our cheese buns,” she says.
Weatherbie says people buy more
Seasonal foods such as this apple crumble from Kelly’s Bakery often provide a bridge from a fruit-based summer diet to a fat-based winter diet.
lattés in winter, and because they have more get-togethers, they buy baked goods in bigger quantities. Holiday cupcakes such as gingerbread molasses, pumpkin cupcakes – in general, root vegetable cupcakes – also sell well, she says.
Einarson’s customers ask for heavier, richer items such as custards and bread puddings. Chocolate bark is another seasonal favourite.
KEEPING IT SIMPLE
It seems that when winter hits, demand for comfort foods both savoury and sweet is at its height. And while comfort food means different things to different people, its universal characteristic seems to be simplicity.
}dose of comfort food in a full meal while younger people prefer it in snack form.
Independent marketing consultant Michelle Brisebois suggests people crave comfort foods partly in reaction to instability in the world and unpleasant events they see in the news. “It’s about nostalgia,” says Brisebois.
When temperatures drop, it stands to reason we count on food to make us feel warm. “I think it’s a body temperature thing,” says Kathy Maraz, a holistic nutritionist. “It’s cold outside, so we want to feel warm on the inside. We tend to go into hibernation mode.”
“It’s cold outside, so we want to feel warm on the inside. We tend to go into hibernation mode.”
Landry equates the idea of comfort food with the process of baking from scratch. “If it’s made from scratch, that in itself is comforting,” she says.
For Einarson, comfort food is made up of ingredients you have on hand such as milk and eggs. “It’s rich food that’s not fancy,” she says. Interestingly, she adds that it’s food you can eat either warm or cold.
A study published in Physiology & Behavior in 2003 breaks down preferences by sex and age. Its findings suggest men find comfort in savoury foods like soups and casseroles while women tend to crave sweet treats like ice cream and chocolate. What’s more, older people tend to enjoy their
“In Ayurvedic medicine (a Hindu system of medicine based on the idea of balance in bodily systems), they classified foods based on what they did to the body, either warming or cooling,” says Maraz. “Warming foods would increase higher thermal levels in the body.”
Ginger, basil, cinnamon, cloves, dates, dill, fennel, garlic, ginseng, honey, oats, parsnips, peppers, quinoa, rutabaga, rosemary, tea, watercress and wild rice are considered warming foods, says Maraz.
“When it cools down and gets grey outside, it affects us psychologically but also our vitamin D stores are lower,” she explains. Our body naturally slows its metabolism and we don’t get out as much, she says, and because we are not moving as much we gain weight.
STAYING HEALTHY
During winter, people tend to move away from a largely fruit-based summer diet to fat-based foods.
To help give customers healthier and more satisfying options, Maraz suggests bakers use more relatively healthy fats such as coconut oil to balance trans and saturated fats. People crave sugary foods, and coconut sugar, which is low-glycemic, is a great way to give them more of what they need.
Educating people about, for example, the types of sugar they are eating, is important, she says, but it can be a challenge. “Explaining to people that all fats are not the same is hard to do because we’ve been told that all saturated fats are bad,” says Maraz. “It’s been a misconception.”
She suggests using whole grains, where you can, as a way to cut down on “super-processed” flours. People want to eat what’s good for them, she says. “They are asking for healthier choices, and a lot of them don’t know how to use things like coconut flour and sorghum flour.”
FINDING A BALANCE
Satisfying customers may come down to finding a balance between giving them what they crave and what they need. But how do bakeries communicate this?
Bakeries should think about using two key words – “warm” and “fresh” – in their winter marketing efforts, says Brisebois. Posting tantalizing pictures of your treats on Facebook accompanied by inviting phrases like “fresh out of the oven” is a great way to draw in customers, and timely tweets when baked goods come out of the oven are irresistible, she says.
Try using taglines that have positive associations, she suggests: “Grandma’s food was good, and good for you.” Offer them a treat or a draw prize of muffins for a year.
Brisebois echoes Maraz’s suggestion of offering treats in moderation. One way to do this is by offering mini versions of your products such as mini-muffins or cupcakes.
“Where we lost our way is in portion control,” she says. “All the studies show the most successful people when it comes to losing
weight and keeping it off are the ones who cheat. They plan the cheat, and they have it in moderation. Then they don’t feel deprived.”
There are two takeaways here for bakeries: First, giving comfort food a healthy twist by adding a nutritious element such as pumpkin provides
customers with added value. Second, bakeries have an important role to play as not just dens of indulgence but also safe havens for the spirit. If you can make a person feel safe and welcome when they walk through your door, you will have gained a loyal customer. / BJ
For more conversations in baking, visit the profiles section of www.bakersjournal.com
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BY JANE DUMMER
MUCH MORE THAN A BYPRODUCT
How coffee flour turned into a highly touted food ingredient
Did you know that coffee production generates a byproduct that is considered one of the most nutritious compost and fertilizers in the world? And, did you know that if the coffee farming business has extra volume of this byproduct and does not have efficient controls in place, it could pile up and create an environmental concern?
The amazing byproduct I’m speaking of is coffee flour. But how can it be used? That question was undoubtedly on the minds of coffee flour inventors (and former Starbucks executives) Dan Belliveau and Andy Fedak when they envisioned converting coffee flour into a food ingredient.
COFFEE
POPULARITY
solution, creating jobs where the coffee is grown and developing a new nutritious food ingredient.”
Coffee flour’s official launch is slated for 2015. In the meantime, Fedak is partnering with chefs and product developers to create recipes with coffee flour.
}Let’s back up for a moment and explore our current coffee environment. Coffee is the second most traded product in the world after petroleum. Our coffee culture is thriving. The numbers confirm this. Statistics Canada reports that, after water, the second most popular drink for Canadians is coffee. Coffee grows as a fruit plant and the coffee bean is essentially the centre seed of the cherry blossom (or pulp). The fleshy, nutritious cherry blossom is the byproduct, which, along with a fertilizer, has the potential for new food uses.
The flavour of coffee flour is unlike coffee as we know it. It is more like a roasted cherry, currant or plum.
TASTE AND COLOUR
Chef Jason Wilson, owner of Crush and Miller’s Guild Restaurants in Seattle, has been experimenting with coffee flour and is thrilled with its functionality, taste and colour.
“Coffee flour can be used as a shelf stabilizer, a fibre additive, protein enrichment, a spice and a structure builder for baked goods and breads,” Wilson says.
explanation: “The flavour is unlike coffee as we know it. It is more like a roasted cherry, currant or plum. There is a dry spice note to it and a lightly smoky element, like the smell of a dry place on a hot day. The colour is simple; it will darken things, so it works great with chocolate.”
When I asked about the coffee flour signature items in the restaurant lineup, the answer was: “The coffee flour batard at Crush is top, with chocolate-filled coffee flour caramels close behind.” Wilson says customers are enjoying the coffee flour items so much, they keep asking for them. He is testing out new ones all of the time.
NUTRITIONAL INFO
Fedak, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Coffee Flour, explains: “If there is excess cherry pulp it can accumulate, sometimes literally left in heaps that can rot very quickly. We have developed a process via wet milling to harvest the goodness from the cherry pulp into coffee flour. Due to a sensitive time period, we are working with wet millers globally. Our goal is to create a sustainable operation by offering another
“Its texture is close to cocoa powder, and fine like rice flour. In performance, it’s unlike other gluten-free flours because it’s very high in fibre. We have successfully replaced other flours with coffee flour as high as 33 per cent in delicious batard and brioche breads. And we are testing a chocolate cake at 25 per cent coffee flour.”
I’m intrigued about the flavour and colour of the flour coming from the coffee cherry pulp and if it resembles coffee bean (seed). Wilson has this
I’m especially interested in the nutritional value of the coffee flour. Preliminary data from Coffeeflour.com identifies that the nutrition is something to talk about. Similar to other agriculture products, depending on the plant variety, climate (including altitude) and soil conditions, the nutritional content will vary.
The Coffee Flour website says coffee flour has five times more fibre than whole-grain wheat flour and three times more iron than fresh spinach, plus it’s a source of protein and potassium. Also, coffee flour contains less caffeine than brewed coffee.
I’m looking forward to it hitting grocery shelves in 2015 and can’t wait to start using coffee flour in my home kitchen. / BJ
