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Competitive juices flowing |
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Written by Brian Hartz
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Oct. 6, 2009 – Thanks for your feedback about my last blog post, "Iron Pastry Chef." I heard from several readers who were highly enthusiastic about the need for Canada's baking industry to take advantage of the popularity of competitive cooking shows and events as a way to showcase the brilliant work being done by our talented professionals and students.
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Iron Pastry Chef? |
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Written by Brian Hartz
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Sept. 14, 2009 – At the Sept. 9 meeting of the Canadian
Pastry Chefs Guild, a fairly routine question about boosting attendance at the
guild’s meetings set off a lively discussion about competitive cooking. Shows
such as “Iron Chef” are all the rage as the Food Network continues to grow in
popularity, and the format is well suited for public display as evidenced by
the competition held at the Hot & Spicy Food Festival in Toronto the
weekend of Sept. 5-6.
Tell us what you think about competitive cooking events and
how industry associations could harness their popularity by e-mailing
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The pulse of innovation |
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Written by Brian Hartz
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Sept. 8, 2009 – From Aug. 26 to 29 I had the pleasure of
getting to know Alberta’s pulse industry. Pulses, if you didn’t know, are
beans, peas and lentils, and they’re increasingly being used as functional and
nutritional ingredients in the food manufacturing industry, including baking
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as they are naturally high in fibre and have almost no fat or sodium.
They're naturally gluten-free and are an excellent source of
folate.
I encourage you to take a look at how pulse flours and other
pulse ingredients can enhance your products by visiting www.pulse.ab.ca or www.pulsecanada.com.
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Socializing |
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Written by Brian Hartz
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Aug. 13, 2009 – Bakers Journal has joined the popular social networking media Twitter and Facebook. On Twitter, you can follow @BakersJournal. If you're on Facebook, click here or search for Bakers Journal and our page should come up. We would love to have you as a fan! We also welcome your submissions of photos and recipes for the page, and anything else you would like to share.
Of course, www.bakersjournal.com will continue to be your best source of information on the web about the Canadian baking industry, but in the interests of developing a true online community, we encourage you to use these innovative social networking tools to communicate with us and your fellow bakers.
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Tim's takes hit in U.S. culture wars |
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Written by Brian Hartz
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Aug. 11, 2009 – The nationwide obsession with Tim Hortons’
every move is reaching unhealthy levels. Today the doughnut and coffee giant –
and Canadian icon – is reeling from the backlash of bloggers condemning it for
its sponsorship of the upcoming “Celebrate Marriage and Family Day” in Warwick,
R.I., an event organized to rally opposition to same-sex marriage. Until it
backed out in response to criticism, Tim’s had agreed to provide free coffee to
the event’s 250 attendees, which are expected to include traditional families
and heterosexual married couples interested in renewing their vows.
Voicing displeasure with Tim Hortons’ actions is fine, and
entirely justified, but whatever happened to the time-honoured way of sending a
message via one’s pocketbook? Will any of Tim Hortons’ critics have the
willpower to boycott its products? I don’t think so. It’s easy to use the
Internet to foist your opinions on anyone with a computer, but much harder to break habits in order to hit your target where it really hurts – the bottom line.
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Lights ... camera ... action! |
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Written by Brian Hartz
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Aug. 6, 2009 – If you haven't seen it yet, be sure to check out our new video terminal. Bakers Journal has truly entered the multimedia age with a website capable of streaming compelling videos straight to your computer screen. At the moment we are showing a how-to video featuring professional cake decorator Julie Bashore working with Satin Ice rolled fondant. I shot this video at the 2009 BAC Congress in Burnaby, B.C., and had a great time doing it. The Satin Ice crew – Bashore, director Kevin O'Reilly and Canadian representative Levon Djerrahian – were a pleasure to work with, and I thank them for their time and co-operation.
If you've shot a video you'd like to see posted on our website, or have a suggestion for a video for us to shoot, let us know by emailing
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Taking on the world |
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Written by Brian Hartz
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July 7, 2009 – Although the
silly season of summer is finally here at last, it’s time to get serious about
the 2012 Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie (Bakery
World Cup) in Paris. Alan Dumonceaux, chairman of the baking program in the School
of Hospitality and Culinary Arts at the Northern
Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), is heading up Team Canada’s effort to
be a factor in the competition and is looking for more participants as the regional
qualifier, also known as the Louis Lesaffre Cup, approaches.
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Happy Canada Day |
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Written by Brian Hartz
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July 1, 2009 – Bakers Journal wishes our readers a very happy Canada Day. With the public holiday falling in the middle of the week, we hope you are still able to find a way to relax, socialize with friends and family, and celebrate this great nation. No matter the size of your business, we know how hard you work to keep the baking industry an integral part of the economy – and people's lives. You deserve a day off to enjoy the fruits of your labours.
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