Boss” Buddy Valastro.
BY BRIAN HARTZ
BAKING HISTORY
Well, they did it.
Team Canada made the long, arduous journey to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in May for the Americas division of the Louis Lesaffre Cup – a precursor to La Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie (Bakery World Cup) next February at Europain in Paris – and after competing against the best bakers and pastry chefs from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay and the host country, they returned victorious.
Prior to the team’s departure, manager Alan Dumonceaux said, “I think we have a very good shot at advancing.”
But history was not on their side. Despite fielding a team in three previous editions of the Lesaffre Cup, Canada had never advanced to the Bakery World Cup.
“Canada has tried four times to qualify for the World Cup of Baking,” said Dumonceaux, who also serves as chairman of the baking program at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton.
“This time we succeeded. We’re part of history for Canadian baking.”
Team Canada’s success also extended to its youngest member, Elien de Herdt, a NAIT graduate who was the team’s “young hopeful” in the Lesaffre Cup. For the 2015-2016 Lesaffre/ Bakery World Cup cycle, each team welcomed into the fold a promising young baker who would be coached by the team and matched up against their youthful peers from other countries in a separate competition.
De Herdt did not disappoint. She won the special prize for the best young hopeful candidate thanks to her colourful, humorous creations geared toward children, which wowed the jury.
“For our students at NAIT, this is significant,” Dumonceaux said. “All the skills we developed in training for this competition will be transferred back into our teaching and passed along directly to our students. We need to inspire other people who want to participate in this event in the future.”
}‘Canada has tried four times to qualify for the World Cup of Baking. This time we succeeded. We’re part of history for Canadian baking.’
After some time off in June, Team Canada – whose other members are James Holehouse and Marcus Mariathas, as well as coach Mario Fortin and technical adviser Clayton Folkers – will reassemble this month for a practice session in Edmonton. They will continue to hone their skills over the remainder of the year in preparation for the Bakery World Cup, scheduled for Feb. 5-9, 2016, at the Europain international bakery, patisserie and catering trade show.
“We will have a team practice once a month,” Dumonceaux said. “That’s the goal – come together as a team once a month. Leading up to the competition, we will go to France a week early for practice to get used to the French flour, butter, etc.”
International travel for a team of six does not come cheap, though. Dumonceaux said the team is still looking for additional industry support to offset travel costs.
“We need to rally the troops and get Canadians at the show, but we also need major corporate sponsors,” he said. “That’s the one thing that we don’t have, whereas the U.S. team has the Bread Bakers Guild of America behind them. They probably have about $100,000 per competition.”
Dumonceaux said Team Canada can do more with less – “it will cost us close to $50,000 over the next seven to eight months” – but that funding remains the biggest challenge the team faces. “We need to have a lot of Canadian support,” he said.
Team Canada has made history. Now it’s time to help them make some more. If you’re reading this and you have already contributed time, funds or materials to the team, thank you. If you haven’t, consider doing so. Brazil was a distant second to Canada at the Louis Lesaffre Cup, but the team will face the world’s best in Paris, and they need your help to make it to the top of the podium. / BJ
JULY 2015 | VOL. 75, NO. 6
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briefly | Team Canada advances to Bakery World Cup; Canadians hungry for home-delivered food; ‘Next Great Baker’ joins AB Mauri; Spain’s Adrià is ‘World’s Best Pastry Chef’; Guy Bedard retires from Ardent Mills | for more baking news, check out our website, www.bakersjournal.com
Consumers hungry for food delivery Adrià named ‘World’s Best Pastry Chef’
Canada is increasingly becoming a “food delivery nation” as demand for online food delivery has seen a significant increase in the past year and the growth trend continues to accelerate.
Data shows that Canadians’ demand for food delivery is exponentially growing while also indicating a substantial shift away from traditional foods associated with delivery such as pizza and Chinese food and toward trendy, ethnically diverse and healthier options.
“What was once considered the domain of pizza and rotisserie chicken has expanded to reflect the reality of the diverse Canadian restaurant scene” says Cameron Reid, founder and president at Toronto-based Orderit.ca. “We’re seeing an increased demand for online food delivery in Toronto, Vancouver and beyond. It is resulting in over 100 per cent year-overyear growth in order volumes.”
This is in line with Google search volumes for online food delivery in Canada, which have increased by 258 per cent over the past four years. Similar trends exist in the United States and Europe, where
e-commerce giants such as Amazon, Google and Uber are pushing into the online food delivery space. The U.S. market for online food delivery is estimated at US$67 billion annually, which translates to a Canadian market worth upward of $6 or $7 billion. Orderit is poised to capture an increasing portion of this market with new city launches and continuing investment in its technology, Reid says.
Data from Orderit shows that consumers’ tastes are shifting toward diverse food options with several regional differences; while butter chicken is the top seller in both Vancouver and Toronto, Torontonians are more likely to order barbecue, souvlaki and pad thai. In Vancouver, banh mi, power protein salads and carnitas are gaining in popularity.
Mobile use has increased by 125 per cent over the past year as more and more Canadians reach for their phones rather than desktops when making an online order.
Spanish chef Albert Adrià of Tickets in Barcelona, Spain, was recognized as the World’s Best Pastry Chef, sponsored by Cacao Barry, at an annual celebration of global gastronomy in London, England.
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2015, sponsored by S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, featured restaurants from 21 countries around the world across six continents. The list provides an annual barometer of the greatest gastronomic experiences across the globe, Cacao Barry, S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna announced in a joint news release.
“We expect to see a continuous rise in mobile usage in the future,” Reid adds.
Adrià has dedicated much of his career to pioneering new pastry techniques, the release said. He headed the seminal Roses restaurant’s pastry section for many years, and led its development kitchen in Barcelona. Adrià started working at El Bulli at age 15. He cooked his way round the restaurant’s sections but settled on pastry because of the scope for creativity.
“With meat and fish there are restrictions. But pastry is a completely blank canvas. The possibilities are endless,” he said.
Adrià now oversees five restaurants in Barcelona. Over the past two decades, he has pioneered dozens of new techniques, many set out in painstaking detail within the two seminal books he has published on desserts. He has been voted the World’s Best Pastry Chef 2015 in recognition of his extraordinary contribution to the global pastry scene.
El Celler de Can Roca, also of Spain, regained its title as The S. Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurant.
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Daniel wins inaugural Jake the Baker Award | BY
BRIAN HARTZ
DAN DOES IT
Patisserie
Afamous quote by Irish playwright Samuel Beckett goes like this:
“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
Late-blooming Swiss tennis star Stan Wawrinka has that quote tattooed on his left forearm, and the phrase has become a battle cry for Silicon Valley upstarts and entrepreneurs in general. But it could easily apply to Daniel Vokey, owner/operator of Victoria, B.C.-based Patisserie Daniel, the winner of Bakers Journal’s inaugural Jake the Baker Award.
The award recognizes and honours business savvy and innovation – two areas in which Vokey excels. Patisserie Daniel beat out more than 20 other Canadian bakeries and won a beautiful award plaque as well as an all-expensespaid trip for Vokey and his wife, Teresa, to Montreal for Bakery Congress 2015.
Vokey, 50, launched Patisserie Daniel 20 years ago, but not before a few failures along the way.
“When you experience failures in business decisions, they don’t always become failures because you learn something,” he said. “But if you are like an ostrich and ignore your failures, then they become problems.”
Spend a few minutes with Vokey and you’ll immediately notice he’s the quintessential “people person.” He doesn’t strike you as the type of business owner who’s content to lock himself away in the office and concentrate on the books. Instead, he’d prefer to be in the kitchen with his workers and out front with his customers. That’s how you connect, teach and learn – three things that Vokey prioritizes.
}‘When you experience failures in business decisions, they don’t always become failures because you learn something. But if you are like an ostrich and ignore your failures, then they become problems.’
owing me money. I didn’t have two cents to rub together.”
In a wide-ranging interview with Bakers Journal, Vokey told us about a few of his failures and struggles, and how his relationships with people always helped him overcome the many challenges he’s faced in his career. Like many entrepreneurs, he’s had to take risks, like operating at a loss from time to time just to keep the doors open and the lights on.
“One year, I was losing $6,000-$7,000 per month just to keep the business open,” he recalled. “I had two businesses; I’d overextended myself; I was selling wholesale; people were
Originally from Montreal, Vokey visited Victoria when he was 19 “as a tourist with some of my buddies,” he said. “I thought it was beautiful but I also noticed that there are very few bakeries.”
At the time, Vokey was studying baking and working in a small bakery on St-Denis Street in Montreal, and he saw in Victoria a place to make his mark as a businessman. However, it didn’t happen overnight. In fact, he toiled for a number of years at Murchie’s Tea & Coffee, a Victoria institution that’s been around since 1894. He got the job after “running into Mrs. Murchie on the street,” he said.
It’s that ability to connect with people
that saved Vokey’s business when he was in dire financial straits. A regular customer knew he was having trouble with the bank because of the large amount of outstanding receivables he was carrying on the books. This customer helped Vokey get an appointment with a private banking specialist who helped find a solution for his cash-flow problems. After that, year in and year out, the customer’s wife would order a birthday cake for her husband from Vokey, and he never charged her for his services.
“He believed … and it wasn’t about the money; it was about support,” he says. “I’ve always had a lot of support from people. They come into my life and they stay there. It’s fabulous.”
When Vokey was first opening shop in Victoria, he had to get creative – and his innovation and business savvy shone through like a sunrise.
“It’s not banks who are going to give
Patisserie Daniel makes huge variety of sweet and savoury baked goods, and recently expanded into the fast-growing meat pie category. Its duck pies, pictured here, are very popular, says owner/operator Daniel Vokey.
you money – it’s your customers,” he says. “You might go to your dentist and say, ‘Hey buddy, can you lend me $20,000 over the course of a year at 10 per cent interest?’ I was able to raise somewhere between $225,000 and $250,000 by going to customers in my first year of business … and I needed it because I’d opened two stores with, like, no money. It’s funny because a lot of these people are still my customers dating back to the ‘80s and ‘90s. It was a beautiful thing.”
Vokey told us he had a great time
revisiting his youth in Montreal recently, but that he dislikes being away from his bakery because he misses his employees so much. He stays in touch with them via smartphone when he’s away, as you’d expect, but what’s unusual is that they stay in touch with him when they go on vacation.
He enjoys the fresh ideas that each new staff member brings to the bakery, comparing it to a beehive bubbling with activity and innovation. A staff member might be with him for a matter of weeks
Solid ‘Pik’ for Jake the Baker Award runner-up
Joanna Schultz, owner/operator of South Surrey, B.C.-based Pikanik, says she’s “the Susan Lucci of the baking world” in reference to the soap opera star who was nominated for nearly 20 Daytime Emmy Awards before finally winning in 1999.
Schultz and Pikanik might have a penchant for close-but-no-cigar finishes in competitions – including Bakers Journal‘s Innovator of the Year Award in 2013 – but that hasn’t stopped them from making a name for themselves. Schultz, 44, founded Pikanik just three years ago, in 2012, after time away from the baking business as a labour consultant. Pikanik has quickly developed a rabid following thanks to its emphasis on gluten-free, wheat-free, peanut-free, tree-nut-free, dairy-free and soy-free products. It also makes some egg-free products.
Schultz says her daughter inspired her to start the business. “She was diagnosed with gluten and dairy allergies when she was three years old. When I started shopping around for products it was, oh my god, it was just tragic. The options were so awful,” Schultz recalls. “So I just started making my own stuff. I was a baker years and years ago. I left the industry, so I just started playing and developing. I was just always making stuff; I’d bring it to work, to the office. People were like, ‘This is really good, you should be baking this stuff. This is better than what’s out there.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah yeah, but I’m not gonna like, quit my day job.’”
She did exactly, that, however, and her inspiring story has not gone unnoticed. Schultz, her family and the Pikanik staff were selected to star in a documentary-style commercial that’s part of Secret Deodorant’s “Everyday Fearlessness” campaign, a series that spotlights real women and the challenges of their lives, in particular balancing career and home responsibilities. The first in the series, featuring a firefighter, is on YouTube. Schultz’s spot was scheduled to debut on June 23. Schultz had her doubts about auditioning for the commercial, but went through with it, anyway, because of the marketing opportunity it represented. “I know, deodorant right?” she muses. “On my application for it I said, ‘I run a bakery and believe me, it’s pretty sweaty.’”
Pikanik’s star continues to rise with the addition of Chopped Canada finalist Hanna Sogo to the staff. The 23-year-old former sous chef, who hails from Surrey, joined the company earlier this year as its manager of culinary innovation. Sogo nominated Pikanik for the Jake the Baker Award. In her comments, she mentioned that the company is “in negotiations to launch our frozen products and mixes with a national distributor, which will expand our market exponentially.”
Sounds like all that sweat is about to pay off. Bakers Journal thanks and congratulates Pikanik, and wishes Schultz, Sogo and the entire team nothing but the best in their future endeavours.
or years, he says, but he always learns from them – and vice-versa.
“People go and come back and sometimes they bring some new stuff,” he says. “Sometimes you have a foreign bee who comes in. And if you allow only positive things to enter your hive, only good honey is gonna be made from it.
“You have people who go, they travel, they come back. Or they go through their high school years and then they go to university and then they go and do their career. Then they stay customers. Or when you need help, they come in. Then it’s like a guest appearance, you know? For such a casual little space, we have a very high-quality, diverse group of people.”
These days, Patisserie Daniel is simply a retail bakery – and Vokey couldn’t be happier to keep it that way. He’s given up wholesaling so he can concentrate on making fresh, high-quality products that consistently meet his high standards. Anything that isn’t exactly right goes on the day-old shelf, which is really more of a discount shelf, he explained.
“My employees know what’s good and what’s not. If something is too small, they immediately put it on the day-old shelf. It should be called the ‘not perfect shelf.’”
Vokey is a big believer in discounting and is not afraid to mark down products if they need to be moved. “I sometimes make $400-$500 per day from the day-old shelf. That translates into $120,000 per year – that pays my mortgage,” he said. “Bakers think their stuff is too good to be discounted. If it doesn’t sell the first day, they put it right back out at full price.”
An additional benefit to concentrating solely on retail, Vokey said, is the ability to spend time passing on what he’s learned. He values his role as a mentor and teacher – and views it as a responsibility. “I hope bakers will continue to make the effort to teach young people because it’s like magic. I love teaching people.” Also, teaching the next generation of bakers keeps him young, because “ever since I was 16 I’ve been working with 16-year-olds. It reminds me to not take myself too seriously.”
Vokey’s advice for business success is precipitated on a simple principle. “If you don’t ask, you don’t get,” he said. “And it’s not like I was hustling anybody. I was very sincere. Looking back, it might have been naivety, but it’s a big lesson for anyone to learn: it’s your customers who feed you. You can’t forget that.” / BJ
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FAMILY REVIVAL
When Dennis Evans worked in his father Frank’s business, Smith’s Bakery and Café, on Agricola Street in Halifax, N.S., for 10 years, not once did he think he’d eventually run the show. But that’s what happened just over a year ago when Dennis and his wife, Tara Fleming, negotiated with Frank and his wife, Carolyn, to take over the bakery. Frank and Carolyn were ready to retire but wanted to keep the bakery in the family.
“My dad proposed it as a possible option,” Dennis says. “He didn’t think it was a possible option for the two of us. He imagined me finding another business partner, possibly someone else in the industry. But once we looked at it with the skills Tara has … it made sense that we could fit it in.”
The first Smith family started the bakery in a garage in the 1920s and incorporated the business in 1932, making it the oldest independent bakery in the city. The Smith family ran the bakery until the 1980s. The original bakery was on nearby Gottingen Street and moved to Agricola in 1961. According to Dennis, the bakery was always known for its pies, squares and cakes. Frank and Carolyn purchased the bakery in 2004.
“We felt the area it was located in had considerable promise,” Frank says. “It’s unlikely that the bakery would have continued had we not kept it going.”
The Evans’ later learned that Carolyn’s parents were bakers at the original Smith’s bakery.
}Dennis and Tara wanted sole control of decisions made concerning the bakery, but they were worried Frank and Carolyn wouldn’t be pleased. “I think because we were clear at the beginning they respected that, but thankfully they think the changes are good,” Fleming says.
‘You can’t ignore so many years of history of why something is popular. It takes businesses years to build up a clientele. Why would you just take all that and just throw it away?’
Dennis and Tara, who met while they worked in Whistler, B.C., split the
duties of running the bakery. Dennis takes care of operations on the floor and in the kitchen. He hires and trains staff and is responsible for ordering and production. Tara, who also works at Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), takes care of schedules and payroll and works with the bookkeeper.
Most of the changes the pair made
were to operations and marketing, including a new logo and smartphonefriendly website. They changed the pricing system to be more efficient at the front end. For example, all the squares are now the same price. And they updated the cash register and worked out the logistics of the small space that would be more effective for staff and customers. They hired a baker’s assistant to help with jobs such as bagging bread and making icing, so the bakers could focus on the products. They changed the appearance of the store, creating new signage, décor in the
From left, pastry chef Marc Kimble, Dennis Evans, head baker Karen Chisholm and Tara Fleming from Smith’s Bakery in Halifax’s north end. Evans and Fleming recently took over the ownership of the bakery from Evan’s parents.
café, and an awning at the main entrance. The staff got new T-shirts.
Dennis and Tara also wanted to improve customer service, so they created a review system to teach staff appropriate service standards. Staff are reviewed every 30 to 60 days with an eye toward goals and improvements.
They made using social media a priority in getting the word out about the bakery. They created a Facebook page on which they post photos of new products. Photos feature regular specials such as Brown Bread Day. Other postings feature the lighter side of a baker’s work, such as putting sugary eyes on cookies.
Pastry chef Marc Kimble, who’s been with Smith’s since 2011, says he appreciates that Dennis and Tara allow the staff to give them input on products and how the bakery is operated. He says Dennis has talked with him about planning and how to bake based on historical sales data. “It gives me more freedom in knowing what is going to work in certain time periods,” he says. “They have laid the groundwork to let us do what we want, and that is fun.”
Dennis and Tara took some products off the menu, but the remaining recipes have stayed the same. In most cases, the recipes for cakes, pies and squares are the same as those used by the Smith family at the first bakery.
“You can’t ignore so many years of history of why something is popular,” Dennis says. “It takes businesses years to build up a clientele. Why would you just take all that and just throw it away?”
It’s those recipes, Dennis says, that keep customers coming back. None of the Smith’s recipes have fillers or are made from mixes. There are no preservatives or complicated ingredients. The blueberry pie, he says, is made from a basic pastry recipe and blueberry filling. Dennis says that creates a food value customers appreciate. “We are using the original recipes because nutritionally, even though some of our stuff is full of sugar and quite a bit of fat, it’s actual food,” he says.
SOME THINGS CHANGE; SOME STAY THE SAME
Karen Chisholm has been on staff at Smith’s since 1999. She’s now the head baker and knows well the sales potential of traditional recipes. She says former customers who live out of the
city come back for the cakes they remember from the Smith’s of years ago. The pound cake, for example, is the same recipe and one of the bakery’s best sellers. “We have never changed it; we tried to change it,” Chisholm says of the recipe. “It is what it is. People know the taste; people know the look. You can’t change it.”
The changes at Smith’s reflect bigger changes in the neighbourhood in which the bakery resides. Long known as a rough part of town with high crime rates and run-down, boarded-up buildings, Agricola is undergoing a renaissance and is now one of the trendiest neighbourhoods in Halifax.
New retail shops, cafés, breweries and restaurants are bringing a new generation to the area that is discovering Smith’s for the first time.
Tara says new customers mean balancing introducing new products while keeping the older customer base happy. “We do have to be respectful of that and bring in things that are going to sell,” she says. “It’s something we are mindful of, to keep an even balance of options.”
Dennis credits his father for being a part of the positive change in the area. “This business has been a cornerstone of the area for ages,” he says. “My father tirelessly poured money into the building to bring it up to make the neighbourhood nicer and more appealing, which actually did work.”
Carolyn says she remembers seeing the potential. “It was an area I thought would ‘go’ if they could solve the problems.”
As for the next year, Dennis says they are implementing a new cost software that will help Smith’s Bakery focus on its best-selling products. They also want to work on their cakes and soon will sell products at a new farmers’ market in the city. These changes haven’t gone unnoticed by the bakery’s previous owners.
“He’s working terribly hard on it,” says Carolyn of Dennis’s investment in the bakery. “He’s there most of the time; that’s what you have to do.”
Frank adds, “It’s turning a page and we are delighted with what they have already accomplished in their first year.” / BJ
BY DIANE CHIASSON
EYE-CATCHING IN-STORE MERCHANDISING
You have wonderful baked goods and your customers love them. What should you do next?
The next steps, of course, are display and packaging. Why are these so important? No matter how good your cookies, cakes, pies or chocolates are, if they don’t look beautiful and fresh at your counter, your customers won’t buy them! You have to make sure that your product is presented and packaged in an appetizing manner, which entices the customer and reinforces your bakery’s image. This is the fine art of bringing your products to life through eye-catching food merchandising, where the vision of
freshness, colour, quality and quantity is key to any bakery’s success. Your choice of selections, presentations and displays, hand chosen props, appropriate lighting, pleasing packaging, signage that sells, customer service, and selling are also part of this strategic process. Proper and well-thought-out in-store merchandising can increase your sales significantly.
So what does it take? Consider the following tips for creating eye-catching and mouthwatering bakery merchandising displays.
EVALUATE YOUR SPACE
Before beginning any merchandising project, you must look at the space itself to determine the room you have to work with, giving special consideration to the fixtures that cannot be moved. For instance, when creating a display consider what you intend to do with the top, the sides and the floor area, while
assessing impact on traffic flow, lighting available to enhance the display and the proximity of workstations.
DETERMINE THE MESSAGE YOU WANT TO SEND
Each fresh food display should have a theme, a product that you want to focus upon, or a specific message that you want to convey. The message is integral to the display and must take centre stage, not being diluted by superfluous decorations. Your primary message should be loud and clear. You should have a plan, a focus, a forecast and a vision.
CONSIDER THE FOCAL POINT
Every display should have a main focal point to attract attention. Decide how you will achieve this. It should be noted that items grouped together (i.e. sandwiches and soups) enhance the sales of both items, and ultimately you sell more.
BUILD UP A DISPLAY
It may be best to start by making a small sketch of what you intend to do, and cross-reference that sketch with the fresh food items and baked goods you have available. Then, build in layers by starting construction with the display items that will be used in the back first. Raise specific items by using cardboard boxes, small crates or fruit baskets turned upside down. Do not wait until the project is completed to ensure it is taking shape as hoped. If you wait until it is completed, you may have to take additional time to tear the display down and start again from scratch, so do a mid-point assessment as you develop your display.
}classic glass jars are but a few examples of the types of packaging available to you, but all should have one thing in common – your name and logo printed clearly on a label, gift card or ribbon on the outside.
Remember, many environmentally conscious consumers are drawn to products by natural looking packaging. If this type of packaging fits the character of your bakery, use plain brown bags, corrugated cardboard cartons or regular brown cardboard
Before beginning any merchandising project, you must look at the space itself to determine the room you have to work with, giving special consideration to the fixtures that cannot be moved.
BAG IT, BOX IT, TIN IT, JAR IT!
You have to make sure that your product is packaged in an appetizing manner. Distinctive boxes, decorative tins, environmentally friendly bags, plain inexpensive white “bakery” boxes, and
boxes wrapped with coarse twine, raffia and dried flowers sealed with your bakery’s adhesive logo to catch their eye. Your packaging should be so appealing that customers keep your bags and boxes for other uses, which will add lasting value to your product as well as serve as an invaluable advertising reminder.
SAMPLING SELLS!
The ultimate selling tool available to you is product sampling. Set up an attractive sampling plate complete with the product description and price so that your customers know exactly what they are buying.
Not one of your customers will be able to resist this final temptation as they leave! / BJ
Diane Chiasson, FCSI, president of Chiasson Consultants Inc., has been helping restaurant, foodservice, hospitality and retail operators increase sales for over 30 years. She is recognized as one of the best restaurant consultants in North America. Her company provides innovative and revenue-increasing foodservice and retail merchandising programs, interior design, branding, menu engineering, marketing and promotional campaigns, and much more. Contact her at 416-9261338, toll-free at 1-888-926-6655 or chiasson@chiassonconsultants.com, or visit www.chiassonconsultants.com.
Master of Economics.
Q&A
Buddy Valastro needs no introduction. But just in case you’ve been living under that proverbial rock, the 38-year-old founder and star of the hit reality series CAKE BOSS, now in its seventh season, runs Carlo’s Bake Shop in Hoboken, N.J., along with his siblings. The bakery has become a huge tourist attraction and Valastro has gone on to publish a couple of books and create several spinoff series, including NEXT GREAT BAKER, whose most recent winner, Lia Weber, is now AB Mauri North America’s baking ambassador and appeared at Bakery Congress 2015 in Montreal.
Valastro is one of several guest stars – including Roland Mesnier and Ron Ben-Israel – appearing at the Americas Cake & Sugarcraft Fair, hosted by Satin Ice, Sept. 18-20 in Orlando, Fla. Prior to the fair, Bakers Journal had the privilege of obtaining an exclusive interview with Valastro, excerpts of which appear below.
BAKERS JOURNAL / How did you get the nickname “Cake Boss”?
BUDDY VALASTRO / I got it when the show began. I was skeptical at first. I didn’t want to come off like a jerk – like I was better than everyone else – but it shows who I am in a true light. Now, I couldn’t think of being anything else but that.
BJ / How did you come up with the idea for the TV show Cake Boss?
BV / I always thought it would make a great show – to follow me and my family, my big crazy family – and these giant crazy cakes. I would go to work every day and laugh, and think, “There is something here,” and I still do. It’s a fun place to work. BJ / Were you prepared for how it became so popular so quickly?
BV / Honestly, I thought the show would do well, but I didn’t think it would do as well as it did! Especially internationally. Sometimes I pinch myself. I’m truly blessed. There have been some growing pains, but there is a lot more positive than negative. I don’t mind taking pictures with the fans or signing autographs. I’m still a regular guy and I remain humble with everything that’s going on around me.
BJ / How do you balance your time between running the bakery and running Cake Boss and its spinoff programs Next Great Baker and Buddy’s Bakery Rescue?
BV / We take it one day at a time, one project a time – with whatever I’m doing: my bakery, my show, my wife, my children – and just make it work. I’m a busy guy. I’ve always been – I’m a great multitasker. It just works.
BJ / What are the advantages and disadvantages of a family-run bakery like Carlo’s Bake Shop?
BV / Having it run by my family, nobody’s going to want to work harder or put in more time; they feel so connected to it. But the problem is, they feel almost too connected and they take it too personally – business is business and sometimes you need to separate the two. Overall, it’s more positive than negative.
BJ / Are things different around the bakery when the cameras aren’t rolling? Or is the show a pretty accurate depiction of life at Carlo’s?
BV / The show is pretty accurate with what happens – it’s the same staff, same people, but when the show is filming, I have more time in the kitchen just because I make a lot of the cakes for the show. The show is all about me making cake, but in day-today operations, I do about 60 per cent of the cakes, not 100 per cent. I still do it not because I have to, but because I love it. Loving what you do is a recipe for success. BJ / How did you become involved in The Americas Cake & Sugarcraft Fair hosted by Satin Ice?
BV / : I’ve been using Satin Ice since Kevin (O’Reilly) opened the business! Going back years and years, Kevin was the first guy to bring fondant into our bakery; he brought it to me and my dad. We’ve remained friends over the years, and we’ve been having conversations about hosting a show for a very long
time. This is the first American cake show of this size and I thought it was about time that we had one here. I really feel that Cake Boss has helped the industry and I’m proud of that. Appearing at The Americas Cake & Sugarcraft Fair is my way of giving back. BJ / It’s a brand-new show so what about it convinced you it would be a good show to appear at?
BV / These are conversations me and Kevin have been having for years –changing the market for cake and fondant and what’s going to be the future. The show is a way for bakers, pastry chefs, and sugar artists to come collaborate. This show is about coming together, sharing ideas, tricks, learning and helping each other. I want to be a part of that.
BJ / What do you plan to talk about at The Americas Cake & Sugarcraft Fair?
BV / Honestly, I don’t know yet. I want to go there with an open mind to let the audience ask me questions – whether they want to know about “Cake Boss” and my story or about wedding cake
trends; I want to be there for them. I want to let people know what I’ve learned over the years and give them my spin on things.
BJ / What products and/or techniques do you plan to demo at The Americas Cake & Sugarcraft Fair in September?
BV / Way too early! I don’t know what I’m doing tonight! I like the challenge of going up there and doing whatever they have in store for me. If there’s a piping bag, I’ll pipe; if there’s fondant, I’ll roll it.
BJ / What are you most looking forward to at the show? Any features that you’re excited about?
BV / Just getting together with the bakers and the fans and letting them know who I am and inspiring people. I
but an amazingly talented cake baker. I’ve definitely always looked up to Ron. We did demos before I was even the “Cake Boss.” It’s a tight-knit community and we have a lot of respect and admiration for each other. Betty Van Norstrand gave me the only lesson I have ever gotten. It was a sugar flower lesson for three days at her house. She’s amazing, and she will be teaching her flower techniques at the show, too!
BJ / You’ve been working at Carlo’s Bake Shop since you were 11 years old. Did you ever consider a different career path for yourself? If so, what was it?
BV / No, I was lucky enough to find my dream job when I was young. I was good at it, I loved it and that was it.
love to solve problems and talk about issues going on the in the baking community and talk trends.
BJ / Do you envision a day when you’ll go back to just being a baker, or do you plan to keep working in television as long as people want to watch?
BV / : I don’t know if that ship sailed out too far already and if I can ever just be a baker. But I am a baker from Hoboken, N.J. That’s who I am in my heart – who I’ll always be.
BJ / What bakers or pastry chefs do you look up to?
BV / The biggest inspiration in my life was my dad. I also admire many bakers and pastry chefs. Ron Ben-Israel, who is also going to be at The Americas Cake & Sugarcraft Fair, is not only a good friend,
BJ / What advice do you have for bakers, pastry chefs, and cake artists?
BV / You can’t give up. You gotta inspire from your surroundings. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Stay true to your recipes and the way you do things. And it’s not only about being talented, it’s about you becoming a part of a community and socializing with the people. It’s as important for you to have a great personality and make people want to come back to you to make their cakes as it is for you to be talented. / BJ
The Americas Cake & Sugarcraft Fair takes place at the Orange County Convention Center and Hyatt Regency Hotel in Orlando, Fla., Sept. 18-20. For more information, visit www.cakefair.com.
BAKER GIVES
“STARTING FROM SCRATCH” A NEW MEANING
Independent baker Fred Piechocki comes from a proud family of bakers. However, during the Great Depression, his grandfather, Stanley, and father, Edward, lost their bakery. As a result, this third generation baker had no recipes or business to carry on.
So what did Fred do? He started his bakery from scratch. In 1979, Fred opened The Cakery Bakery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ten years later, he moved to Warrington, Pennsylvania, where he and longtime friend, Henry Stoughton, opened the Warrington Pastry Shop. Fred describes his business as a European style, traditional bakery where products are baked from scratch every day.
Best known for the 60 to 100 decorated cakes it produces a week, Warrington Pastry Shop also turns out 10 to 15 wedding cakes a weekend during prime wedding season. It is also well known for Danish, regular cakes, cupcakes, butter cakes, cinnamon buns and donuts.
“My greatest accomplishment is to consistently produce a high-quality product,” said Fred. International® Bakers Services has played a key role in maintaining this quality.
“When I started out, I received a sample of International® Bakers Services B&V® and I have used IBS flavors ever since,” Fred recalled. His bakery also uses chocolate, banana, rum, coconut and hazelnut flavors. “I am very happy with IBS products,” Fred stated. “They are easy to use, very consistent and economical. Most importantly, the flavors hold up.”
“Using ingredients that will keep product quality high will make you proud to be an independent baker,” Fred advised. If you value consistent quality, you should get to know International® Bakers Services Contact us toll-free at (800) 3457175, by fax at (574) 287-7161, or in writing at 1902 North Sheridan Ave., South Bend, Indiana 46628. We have the flavors your customers deserve.
“Cake Boss” Buddy Valastro will be a featured speaker at the Americas Cake & Sugarcraft Fair Sept. 18-20 in Orlando, Fla.
Bédard retires from Ardent Mills
Guy Bédard is retiring from Ardent Mills at the end of July following a 36-year career. Bédard worked for Robin Hood Multifoods, Smuckers, and Horizon Milling in a variety of increasingly important positions, rising from sales representative to district sales manager to leading national sales, before moving to national sales lead for Canada for Ardent Mills
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when it opened for business in May 2014. “Guy Bédard’s commitment and dedication to the customer and to the team members has been evident throughout his years of service,” said Ardent Mills CEO Dan Dye. “Guy has lived out the value of serving others so well and I know he is committed to continuing to help and give back to others. It has been a pleasure to work with Guy and learn from Guy and I wish him all the very best in the next chapter of his life.”
The role of national sales manager for Canada will be filled by Ralph Mercadante, formerly the company’s director of sales for Brampton, Ont. Ardent Mills was the platinum plus sponsor of Bakers Journal’s inaugural Jake the Baker Award.
Baking Team Canada triumphant in Argentina
Baking Team Canada competed at the Louis Lesaffre Cup in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in late May, and won the right – for the first time in the history of the team – to advance to the Bakery World Cup at Europain in Paris next year. Pictured above, from left are team members Alan Dumonceaux (Viennese pastry), Clayton Folkers (technical adviser), Mario Fortin (coach), Elien de Herdt (young hopeful), Marcus Mariathas (baguette and world breads) and James Holehouse (artistic showpiece). “I want to thank all of you who made it possible for Canada to compete at the Lesaffre Cup in Argentina,” Dumonceaux says. “I just wanted to pass along a note and some photos of our team from the Lesaffre Cup. Once again your financial support was invaluable in our effort to represent Canada at the world stage.”
• http://www.coupelouislesaffre.com/
Guy Bédard Ralph Mercadante
Pastry chef showcase calls for entries
The Pastry Chef Guild of Alberta and housing charity L’Arche Calgary have announced the next Pastry Chef Showcase will be held on Feb. 28, 2016, at Calgary’s Heritage Park. In 2016, the event will expand from a biennial showcase, the guild said on its dedicated event website. It is seeking participants to present their signature dessert or showpiece.
The event is in support of L’Arche Calgary, an organization that creates homes and communities for people with developmental disabilities.
More information and highlights from the 2014 showcase can be found at www.pastryshowcase.ca/about/index.html.
‘Next Great Baker’ joins AB Mauri
AB Mauri North America named Lia Weber of St. Louis, Mo., winner of TLC’s Next Great Baker Season 4, as the company’s baking ambassador. Weber was selected because she shares the company’s strong passion for baking, according to AB Mauri North America president Mark Prendergast.
“We are delighted to have Lia Weber join our team,” Prendergast said in a news release. “She projects the kind of image we want to convey, and the public really connects with her energy and style.”
Weber took part in opening celebrations at AB Mauri’s new North American headquarters in St. Louis. Her first official appearance on behalf of the company was at Bakery Congress 2015 in Montreal May 31-June 1. www.abmna.com
IBA tickets now available online
In about four months, IBA 2015, one of the world’s leading trade fairs for bakery, confectionary and snacks, will begin. Visitors to this year’s IBA can now reserve their tickets online and use the new IBA website to prepare for the industry’s most important event, which takes place in Munich, Germany, Sept. 12-17, 2015. Tickets are available at www.iba.de/en/tickets and can be printed out at home or sent straight to your mobile device. Any vouchers for day tickets can be redeemed online as well.
Alongside the option to purchase advance tickets, the IBA website offers many new and useful tools to help you prepare for the trade fair itself. Exhibitors and visitors can find all they need to know to plan their travel, such as direct booking of hotel. rooms, an overview of travel deals, information about arrival and about excursions to top sights in Bavaria. Using computer, tablet or smartphone, visitors can filter out favourites from the online catalogue by brand, product or exhibition hall. Hall plans are also available online.
2015 frozen dough guide & directory
BAKEMARK CANADA
2480 Viking Way, Richmond, BC V6V 1N2
Contact: Richmond: Debbie Fawcus 604-303-1700 or 1-800-665-9441
Calgary: Lennie Lardeur 403-243-5493 or 800-661-1248; Edmonton: Chris Rossnagel 780-483-2831 or 800-363-8234; Toronto: Shawn Boodhram 905-829-9187 ext. 109 or 800-361-4998; Montreal: Nancy Beecraft 450-667-8888 or 800-361-0758
Website: www.yourbakemark.com/ca/
Products offered: Clean labelled and kosher dough conditioners for use in the production of frozen dough, par-baked and frozen baked goods.
Deliveries: Supply bakers across most of Canada from key locations in B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.
Major customers: Wholesale bakery manufacturers, independent bakeries, in-store bakeries, foodservice and the food industry.
Assistance offered: Sales, marketing and technical expertise.
Company comments: BakeMark Canada offers a variety of frozen dough conditioners. We also supply pre-made and par-baked products for your baking ease and convenience. Contact your local branch for all your bakery ingredient needs.
BACKERHAUS VEIT LTD.
6745 Invader Cresent, Mississauga, ON L5T 2B6
Contact: Sandra L. Zanette, Director of Marketing & Business Development
Tel: 905-850-9229
Fax: 905-850-9292
Website: www.backerhausveit.com
Products Offered: Artisan Breads, Rolls & Soft Bavarian Pretzels; Frozen par-baked or fully baked; Branded, Private label or Co-packing capable.
Deliveries: Canada and the United States with local broker and distribution support.
Major customers: Retail in-store bakeries, Foodservice Commercial/Industrial Operators, Independent bakeries, Private label, Co-packing Distributors. Assistance offered: New product development, Technical support and Merchandising assistance can be provided.
Company comments: Backerhaus Veit remains a true Craft Artisan Bakery offering European handcrafted quality breads, rolls and pretzels in a wide range items that meet current market demands. Backerhaus Veit is a Food Safe company with a BRC Grade ‘A’ Rating, holds a Kosher Pareve and Vegan accreditation and is certified with WBE Canada (affiliated with WBENC).
DAWN FOODS CANADA
75 Vickers Rd., Toronto, ON M9B 6B6
Tel: 416-233-5851
Customer Service: 416-239-3571 or 1-866-277-3663
Website: www.dawnfoods.com
Products offered: Dough Conditioners and Bread Bases ideal for frozen dough, par-baked and thaw’n sell bread products. Dawn offers a complete line of frozen bakery products you can trust. Developed for today’s bakery with ready to bake, freezer to oven and thaw’n sell varieties.
Deliveries: North American Distribution.
Major customers: Craft Bakeries, In-Store Bakeries, Wholesale Bakery Manufacturers, Food Service. Assistance offered: Technical support, and customized product development.
Company comments: Dawn Foods, a world leader in the manufacturing of bakery ingredients and finished bakery products offers a complete line of products to serve bakery customers.
Our three pillars of service:
1. We know. Our knowledge of the baking process and industry
1. We care. Our desire and commitment to our customers’ success
1. We can help. Our ability to bring products and ideas that help our customers sell
GOURMET BAKER INC
Suite 502-4190, Lougheed Highway, Burnaby, BC V5C 6A8
Contact: David MacPhail, Senior Vice President and General Manager
Tel: 604-298-2652
Fax: 604-296-1001
Website: www.gourmetbaker.com
Products offered: Manufacturer and marketer of baked and unbaked desserts and breakfast pastries. Broad range of frozen bakery products including dessert bars and squares, un-iced sheetcakes, puff and Danish pastry, crumpets, croissants, cinnamon buns, round cakes, loaf cakes and slab cakes.
Deliveries: Throughout Canada and the United States. Minimum order 150 cases, shipped via frozen reefer truck through distributors.
Major customers: In-store bakeries, retail bakeries, supermarket chains and the foodservice segment. Assistance offered: Sales and product training is available from our sales network across Canada.
Company comments: The Gourmet Baker brand is well recognized throughout Canadian in-store bakeries and the foodservice industry. Gourmet Baker has developed a reputation for delivery of high quality and value products as evidenced by its long-standing customer relationships. Through its extensive product offerings, the company provides customers with considerable choice and the convenience of one-stop shopping.
OK FROZEN DOUGH
4145 Spallumcheen Pl., Armstrong, BC V0E 1B6
Contact: Bruce Glacier
Tel: 250-546-0311
FIERA FOODS COMPANY
50 Marmora St., Toronto, ON M9M 2X5
Contact: Natalie Maev
Tel: 416-746-1010 ext.294
Fax: 416-746-8399
Website: www.fierafoods.com
Products Offered: Artisan breads and rolls, croissants, bagels, danishes, puffed pastry, cinnamon rolls and muffins. All products are trans-fat free.
Production Methods: Freezer-to-oven, preproof, par-baked, fully baked.
Assistance Offered: Technical support and merchandising assistance can be provided to all of our valued partners.
Company Comments: Product innovation and understanding our customers’ needs have been critical in our success. With our capability to execute customized programs or deliver on high quality products right off our product list, we can help ensure your customers will keep coming back to your bakery to get the exceptional quality you are providing, courtesy of Fiera Foods.
E-mail: bruce@okfrozendough.com
Website: www.okfrozendough.com
Products offered: Complete line of frozen bread and roll dough, including white,whole wheat, multigrains, ryes, sourdough, and other specialty items. Deliveries: Snow Cap and other major bakery distributors in Western Canada. Customers In-store bakeries and food service suppliers.
Company comments: OK Frozen Dough has been providing quality frozen dough for over 20 years. Our variety of product compliments any bakery program and our dedication to consistent quality has made us the trusted frozen dough supplier of Western Canada’s Grocery Industry. Remember our motto: We help YOU make DOUGH!
OLYMPIC WHOLESALE CO. LTD.
75 Green Ct., Ajax, ON L1S 6W9
Tel: 905-426-5188
E-mail: info@olympicwholesale.ca
Website: www.olympicwholesale.ca
Products offered: Complete line of dry and frozen products for all your bakery needs including paper, cleaning supplies, cake decorating and frozen finished products. Suppliers of house brands: Olympic, Tasty, Bakers and our all natural Pure Foods Products line since 1936. A variety of spelt, organic, all natural and retail products are available. Areas serviced: All of Ontario (some northern areas excluded) and Quebec.
Assistance offered: Technical support from all manufacturers as well as providing technical documentation upon request.
Company comments: Committed to Service Excellence.
PRIME PASTRIES
370 North Rivermede Rd., Concord, ON L4K 3N2
Contact: Steven Muchnik
Tel: 905-669-5883
Fax: 905-669-8655
Website: www.primepastries.ca
Products offered: Pastries: Croissants, Danish, Turnovers, Cinnamon Buns. Unbaked Frozen, Freezer-to-Oven, Thaw and Serve
Dough products: Croissants, Danish, Turnovers, Puff Pastries, Cinnamon Buns. Frozen Baked Croissants, Danish, Cinnamon Buns (Thaw and Sell/Serve). Freezer to oven pastries. Kosher and Pareve pastries.
Deliveries: Throughout Canada, US, Carribean, Middle East and Asia.
Major customers: Supermarket chains, foodservice operators, food distributors, bakeries, c-stores, private label retailers.
Assistance offered: Technical and product development assistance. Custom design service. Designation: BRC, HACCP and Kosher Certified. Company comments: Prime Pastries is a 100% Canadian owned company that is located in Concord, Ontario. We offer an infinite range of products either in the raw frozen, “proof and baked” and “thaw and serve” format. As a contract manufacturer, Prime Pastries is capable of adapting to your needs. We can manufacture according to your specifications for size, ingredients and packaging. Our products can be found in major supermarkets and foodservice outlets in Canada and USA.
READY BAKE FOODS INC.
2095 Meadowvale Blvd.
Mississauga, ON L5N 5N1
Contact: Brenda Williams, Sales Tel: 905-567-0660 ext. 4604
Products offered: Complete line of breads (frozen dough/pre-proofed/par-baked), rolls, sweet goods,
donuts, cakes, pies and specialty items.
Deliveries: Throughout Canada from Ready Bake warehouses in Regina/Calgary/Vancouver/ Mississauga/Montreal.
Major customers: In-store bakeries and foodservice operations.
Assistance offered: On-site training in production, merchandising and bakery management. Regular follow-up by technical sales staff comprised of qualified bakers.
Company comments: Your success is the core of our business.
RICH PRODUCTS OF CANADA LTD.
149 Rowntree Dairy Rd.
Woodbridge, ON L4L 6E1
Website: www.richscanada.ca
Contact: Kevin Spratt
Tel: 1-905-265-4321
Product Offered: Rich’s has an extensive lineup of breads and rolls, including Roll Dough, Par-Baked Breads, and Fully Baked Breads. Rich’s also has an exceptional lineup of specialtyflatbreads and a premium Gluten-Free offering. In addition, Rich’s offers: sweet goods, cookies, donuts, desserts as well as a full spectrum of whipped toppings and icings & fillings.
Deliveries: National distribution through local and broadline distributors. Mimimum orders vary across Canada.
BREAD: A BAKER’S BOOK OF TECHNIQUES AND RECIPES
Hailed as a “revelation” when it first appeared in 2004, Jeffrey Hamelman’s Bread is a legendary resource praised by baking luminaries from around the world. Explaining complex techniques with simple and helpful illustrations, the book includes recipes for a vast array of breads, including sourdoughs, brioche, authentic rye breads, flat breads, French breads, and much more.
• Features nearly 150 detailed, step-by-step recipes, along with vivid drawings and photographs showing techniques and finished products
• Written by Jeffrey Hamelman, one of fewer than 200 Certified Master Bakers in the United States and a recipient of the Golden Baguette Award (2005), the highest honor bestowed by the Bread Baker’s Guild of America
• Fully updated to include the latest techniques, methods, trends, and bread varieties
of: Depositors, Transfer Pumps, Metal Detector Conveyors, Conveying Systems, Custom Built Equipment, Baking and Proofing Racks and Used Equipment.
Dutchess Bakers Machinery Co.
Model JN Semi-Auto Divider/Rounder
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2-Year parts & labor warranty.
Heads can be washed in a sink or dishwasher. High production rate - low maintenence Easy to train and operate.
Model BMIH-36/18 Dough Divider
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Contact our Canadian Representative @ eric@bloemhof.com www.dutchessbakers.com - sales@dutchessbakers.com
bakers formula ¦
PIGNOLI COOKIES
This recipe comes to Bakers Journal courtesy of none other than the “Cake Boss” himself, Buddy Valastro, owner/ operator of Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken, N.J., and star of the hit series Cake Boss on TLC. For an exclusive Q&A interview with Valastro, see page 16.
Ingredients
2-1/2 cups almond paste tightly packed, not marzipan
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 large egg whites
2-1/2 cups pine nuts
Directions
Line bottom of four ungreased cookie
sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the almond paste, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, cinnamon, honey and vanilla. Paddle at low-medium speed until the mixture is smooth with no lumps remaining, about 2 minutes.
• With the motor running, add the egg whites one at a time and mix until absorbed after each addition, about 30 seconds per addition. Scrape down bowl and mix another 30 seconds to insure no lumps remain.
• To pipe cookies: place a #6 plain tip in a pastry bad and pipe the dough out in 2-inch diameter circles that are about 1-1/2 inches high, leaving about 1-1/2 inches between circles, and create four staggered rows of three circles on each cookie sheet. Repeat on 3 remaining cookie sheets lined in parchment.
• On a separate cookie sheet, spread the pine nuts out in a single layer. Take one of the parchment sheets with piped circles of dough, slowly invert it over the nuts. Press down so the nuts
adhere to the dough and remove, very gently shaking the parchment to loosen any extra pine nuts. Repeat with remaining piped cookies. Or, instead of dipping the piped cookies you can sprinkle the pine nuts over the piped cookie dough and press them into the dough to adhere.
• Leave the pine nut covered cookie dough circles out and uncovered at room temperature overnight or for at least 8 hours.
• To bake: preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake in two batches for about 20-25 minutes, or until cookies are nicely golden.
• Allow cookies to cool completely before removing from parchment paper.
BAKERY FOR SALE: Neighbourhood bakery in southern Alberta for sale, in operation for 30 years. Sales $300,000 yr. All equipment maintained or updated. Great for mom and pop operation. Contact klassybaker@yahoo.com
BY JANE DUMMER
MAKE SUMMERTIME BERRY DELICIOUS
Baking with summer berries is as easy – and yummy – as pie, not to mention highly nutritious
There is something special about summertime desserts made with fresh berries that brings back memories of the lazy days of summer vacation.
Whether it was strawberry shortcake (as a kid, it was my job to whip the cream with the electric beater, as my brother sliced the strawberries) or picking berries at Cross’ raspberry patch for pies, tarts and turnovers, simple berry recipes in the hot summer sure hit the spot!
Berries offer beautiful colours, flavours and textures, especially when they are freshly harvested at their seasonal peak. Plus, we know that berries are full of health benefits. They are loaded with antioxidants, fibre and vitamins that promote immune and digestive health, making them a scrumptious base for pies and jams.
}Nothing can compare to the taste of fresh, in-season berries – and they’re nutritious, as well.
that’s more advanced on the pastry side of baking, using seasonal fruit, berries and chocolate. The final product is decorated with beautiful glazed fruit and berries. The tarts are fancier than the
Berries offer beautiful colours, flavours and textures, especially when they are freshly harvested at their seasonal peak. Plus, we know that berries are full of health benefits.
I love it when health and indulgence come together in one food, such as berry pies. And who doesn’t like pie? It’s as easy as pie to think about adding the fresh, ripe berries to that flaky buttery crust.
However, it seems there’s a generation that has missed out on the fundamentals of how to make a pie. Lisa Sanguedolce, founder and owner of LeDolci Culinary Classes, Custom Cakes & Bake Shop in Toronto, agrees.
“When people attend our Perfect Pie Class, they want to bake a pie like Grandma does,” Sanguedolce says. “We go back to the basics of how to make pies from scratch with seasonal berries and fruit. We teach the participants how to make the perfect crust and how to prep the berries and fruit for the filling. We find people want to learn in a fun and relaxed environment. Plus, at the end of class everyone goes home with new skills and a pie that is ready to bake.”
LeDolci also offers a fruit tart class
basic berry pie and make a nice option for a summertime garden party. The gang at LeDolci purchases large quantities of fresh seasonal berries from local Ontario farmers and markets, and then makes purees. They freeze both the purees and the whole berries to use year-round in their cakes and cupcakes.
Berries are some of the most beautiful foods in the world and they blend well with other fruits to produce bold new flavours. Who doesn’t like a pie popping with the sweetness and tartness straight out of the field? How does peach raspberry amaretto crumble galette sound? Yes, please!
Kyla Eaglesham, owner of MADELEINES in Toronto, is the master baker behind this creation. “We don’t add any sugar to the peach raspberry filling as the crumble provides the sweetness to the pie,” she says. “And yes, this pie is delicious and very popular.”
After 10 years in retail, MADELEINES opened a production kitchen in 2012 and sells wholesale to retailers, including
Pusateri’s Fine Foods, and offers direct custom orders. Strawberry rhubarb galette, mixed berry with oat crumble galette, Niagara sour cherry (not a berry, but I thought I’d mention it) pie and wild blueberry with praline (almond, pecan and hazelnut) crumble top the seasonal pies on the menu.
“We purchase from preferred farmers and work directly with a wholesaler who specializes in produce,” Eaglesham says. “We acquire the berries when they are in season and freeze extra for pie orders during the offseason, including Thanksgiving. Responding to a shift in the way people shop, we created a better website, allowing customers to pre-order in advance, which gives us time to coordinate the berries and fruit we need to have on hand. However, we still take pies direct to some urban farmers markets including Farm City and CityPlace. This continues to nourish our relationship with the customer while offering the seasonality they are requesting.”
Even though berry season is only a few weeks out of the year, and I’m known to keep a stash of fresh picked frozen berries in my freezer, nothing beats the delicious sweet, tart taste of summer in a pie made from scratch at the peak of the season. Happy summer! / BJ
Jane Dummer, RD (www.janedummer.com), known as the Pod to Plate Food Consultant, collaborates and partners with the food and nutrition industry across North America.
Silo Mixing
handling
proofi ng
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The advantage is yours.
When you bake with products that carry the Dawn Distributors Advantage® brand, it means we’re standing behind you. We’ve searched and found the highest quality products that perform consistently every time, so you can focus on what’s most important - growing your business.
From flour to spices and oats to chocolate chips, our DDA® products are the essential ingredients you need to run your bakery. Contact your Dawn Sales Representative to discover the advantage you’ve been looking for.
For more information about these and other fine products, visit DawnFoods.com or call (866) 277-3663.