Ventes Rudolph, the Canadian baking supply company announced a new addition to its line of ingredients: Pure pumpkin purée.

In the food industry, the best recipe for sustainable success is specialisation. Precisma GmbH based in Sipbachzell in Upper Austria is among the leading experts in baking tray cleaning technology and has demonstrated that innovation always provides the foundation for continuing success.

Patterson’s release of the new direct drive V-Series HVLS ceiling fan stimulates the market with a competitively priced, high-performance unit.

Ashworth releases SpiralPlast, a new line of all-plastic low tension spiral belts.

Larson Electronics, a Texas-based company with over 40 years of experience spearheading the industrial lighting and equipment sectors, announced the release of an explosion-proof lighting panelboard designed for use in hazardous locations and work sites.

The Kwik Lok Corporation introduced Eco-Lok, a bag closure made with sustainable materials, the first step in the company’s drive to reduce its environmental impact. |READ MORE|

“Small kitchen” and “precision cooking” are no longer mutually exclusive with Vulcan’s introduction of a new kind of multi-functional cooking platform.

Independent restaurants and midsize foodservice operations have a new option in food preparation and ware washing equipment with the introduction of Centerline™ by Hobart.

Bacharach, a provider of HVAC-R gas instrumentation, announced the addition of 22 halogen refrigerants for its MGS-400 gas detectors in commercial and industrial gas leak monitoring applications. 

Rousselot®, a Darling Ingredients global company and global producer of gelatine and collagen peptides, and Pharmatech, one of Norway’s largest manufacturers of natural medicine and health products, are proud to announce the success of their cooperation to bring best-in-class fortified confectionery to the EMEA market.

Tetra Pak has announced the launch of its connected packaging platform, which will transform milk and juice cartons into interactive information channels, full-scale data carriers and digital tools.​

There’s much to consider when it comes to food labelling regulation, and how to define what constitutes a healthy diet. BAC CEO and president, Paul Hetherington coined 2019 as the year of “regulatory confusion” during the panel discussion at the Bakery Showcase in May.

The Sweet Bakery in Brantford, Ontario is a small shop with a big heart. To hear Stacey Bester speak of how lucky she is, and how she “married the man of her dreams,” you wouldn’t know that her bakery was born from a dark, sad time in her life.

Giving is an art form. So is baking. It’s no surprise to anyone that bakers are as gifted at creating beautiful pastry or bread as they are at connecting to the communities they serve. Given that bakery arts are a part of the hospitality industry, most bakers are generous souls: Many have gone into the food industry because they love to put a smile on someone’s face.

Daniel Mongraw, pastry chef and winner of Canada’s Best Pastry Chef Award in 2018, presented by Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants, has built a reputation for being fearless in his plated dessert creations. The same could be said for his unconventional career path.

Bakers, caterers and restaurateurs are using Instagram to promote their services and show off their skills. The social media app started as a story-sharing medium in 2010, to display captioned photos from its users around the world. Today, everyone from teens to marketing executives harnesses its popularity to get their name or brand recognized globally.

In 1945, a Brazillian brigadier named Eduardo Gomes was the unlikely inspiration for a chocolate trend. Gomes’s Presidential campaign had a grass-roots following: Local women held parties to raise funds for his election, selling homemade chocolates that were somewhere between a chocolate truffle and fudge.

When Kyle Wilson went travelling in Africa, he and his wife, Katie were drawn to the cocoa fields. They both had a background in the coffee industries as baristas, but wanted to travel the world, and bring something special back with them to Canada. What they found was an opportunity for FairTrade cocoa, and ethically sourced, bean-to-bar chocolate in Toronto.

The Las Vegas International Artisan Baking Show in Las Vegas took place between March 4 to March 7, 2019.  Canadian Pizza  Summit champions Giuseppe Cortinovis of Ignite Pizzeria in Vancouver, B.C., and Dean Litster of Armando’s Pizza in Windsor, Ontario showed the Las Vegas Convention Centre what makes Canadian pizzas so special.

What sweetens up winter blues like a good old-fashioned sugaring-off? Redpath Sugar began its Sugar Shack festival five years ago to bring a taste of the country to the big city.

The 2018 Port Hope Butter Tart Taste-Off took place on Sept. 23. September is that “sweet spot” when southern Ontario is neither too cold nor too hot.  Seasonality is key for this festival: temperate weather is key to drawing in tourists to enjoy what is arguably Canada’s national pastry.

Though I’m from Quebec, I’m a city girl, through-and-through. Despite growing up in the concrete jungle and not in the countryside, I still know the difference between maple syrup and “table syrup.”

"When you start experimenting in dough, it’s never-ending!” says Chef Giuseppe Cortinovis excitedly. Cortinovis has more traditional credentials under his belt, among them a professional course in traditional pizza at ITHQ in Montreal and a Roman pan pizza course with respected chef Massimo Bosco in Sardinia.

Chicago’s famous spelt flour croissants

A home cook’s version of Miku Toronto’s famous Green Tea Opera Cake

Cozy up this fall with a warm pie and Cameron’s Auburn Ale. Thanks, OCB and Cameron’s Pale Ale!

Chef Allen Susser recommends using mangoes at their ripest. This recipe was launched at the South Beach Mango Festival.

Vegan baking is on the rise. If you are on the hunt for a yummy vegan cupcake recipe to offer your customers, try this sweet potato recipe from Kelly Childs and Erinn Weatherbie of Kelly’s Bake Shoppe in Burlington, Ont.

Toronto – Muskoka Brewery and Ace Bakery of Toronto teamed up to create bread recipes using three seasonal beers, Winterweiss, Shinnicked Stout and Harvest Ale, and offer classes on how to make them. The London Free Press reports. | READ MORE

Pizza New: A whole new era for the world’s favourite food, by chef Stefano Manfredi, looks at what happens when pizza is made using different stone-milled flours, various fermentation procedures and free of the strictures of tradition. It includes recipes for pizza rossa, pizza bianca, Roman pizza, and filled, fried and sweet pizzas such as the delicate dessert recipe below, “Pillow of dreams.”

These brownies were inspired from her chocolate bar that is infused with cherry fig black tea, as well as the chai brownie recipe in Raelene Gannon’s book tea from cup to plate, which was published in 2015.

Vanilla Cupcakes

Rhubarb Pie

Coconut Passion Fruit Domes

Janice Best spoke with Bakers Journal to learn about the best way to work with frozen, or refrigerated dough. What is the safest way to use it? Can it be re-frozen safely?

Technology transforms everything it touches, and the food industry is no different. In a few years time, every food item we purchase could have its entire history – from the farm to the production facility to the vending machine – tracked and available right on the package. Smart packaging will monitor internal food temperatures and assess whether the contents are safe for consumption.

As consumer interest in gluten-free products has grown, the category has transitioned from a niche to a mainstream market segment. This has resulted in access to better quality ingredients including a broad range of gluten-free flours.

Bakers Journal asked Elaine O’Doherty about the trends in flour and bread. Is bread still on the menu for Canadian bakeries and restaurants? What does the public want, and what should they know about the future of flour?

Finding alternative ingredients for vegan baking has opened up options for development and the opportunity to focus on flavours. The biggest challenge in vegan baking is overcoming the loss of eggs’ functionality, as they provide stable emulsions, structure, stability, and texture.

PhD doctorate Quoc Cuong Nguyen, defended his doctorate on how consumers’ preferences and their perception of satiety, at the food research institute NOFIMA.

Now that spring has sprung, we say goodbye to barren bushes and hello to an abundance of fresh, vibrant and delicious fruits. Simple and natural fruit forward pastries, cakes and baked goods continue to trend in 2019.

Consumers live a fast and busy lifestyle. While being health conscious, they gravitate towards purchasing more “grab and go” options and this includes baked goods.

Grown Rogue International Inc. announced a formal partnership between one of North America’s top chocolatiers and Grown Rogue International to create THC and CBD infused chocolate products under the GRAM and Grown Rogue brands.

Scientists have developed a natural way to prevent discoloration of pastry dough during storage using a combination of white wine and lemon juice.

Breakfast has evolved from an early morning dish to grab-and-go snacks or all-day meals.  In 2018 we observed consumers loving quick, easy and nutritious breakfast choices like overnight oats and high protein breakfast cookies. Social media is flooded with breakfast from the iconic avocado toasts to innovative, healthy pancakes for the grab-and-go market.

For most companies, employee salaries are their largest expense. The costs associated with finding, training and retaining employees is high. Investing in new employees is often seen as a gamble, as the new employee might not be a good fit.

A penny saved is a penny earned. There are many ways to lose money in your bakery business. It could be in the kitchen, storage areas or in the office. There are also dozens of small changes that can save your bakery money every year such as taking proper inventory, re-evaluating your food orders, and using your bakery products creatively.

Puratos Canada, the Canadian arm of global Belgium-based brand Puratos has released some key insights into the consumer trends and the future of bakeries, with the results of a three-year study.

Have you ever found yourself making statements like these?

Inspirational leaders have commandments they work and live by. Commandments, or guidelines, lay the critical foundation for the development of leadership and business solutions.

The search for the country's biggest donut devotee is on!  Entenmann's® Bakery, a division of Bimbo Bakeries USA, announced today it is now accepting entries for its sweetest honourary title ever – Chief Donut Officer.

Puratos Canada, the Canadian arm of global Belgium-based brand Puratos has released some key insights into the consumer trends and the future of bakeries, with the results of a three-year study.

Times are changing in the bakery industry. It is absolutely necessary nowadays for bakery operators to take some time to analyze their menu, product mix, and pricing.  

Even if you don’t plan to move, looking at other locations will help negotiate a better price on the place you’re in.

When hiring a new person, it’s very likely that you will review their resume, CV or professional profile and assess how their experience might apply to what your team needs.

Would you expect someone to give you all the time in the world to deliver an average product, while letting you charge as much as you want for it? Sounds absurd, right?

Back to School” is a deeply nostalgic term. It brings me back to the smell of new notebooks, fresh pens, and a chance to start anew. With this edition of Bakers Journal, students of all ages are learning something new, and with it, the olfactory memories of school supplies means the smell of something delicious in the oven.

Aurora, Ont. – The Canadian Food and Wine Institute at Niagara College will offer short-term and part-time training in culinary skills, commercial brewing and viticulture in Aurora, Ont.

Charlottetown – The Culinary Institute of Canada at Holland College in Charlottetown recently opened up its new facilities – which include a restaurant and cafeteria – to students after months of renovations. The Guardian reports. | READ MORE

With their semester coming to an end, students in the Advanced Baking and Pastry graduate certificate program at Durham College (DC) were put to their final test – create a Pop-up Bake Shop in which to package, market and sell their creative concoctions.

George Brown College's chef school held its annual gingerbread house competition on Tuesday, Nov. 29, with 23 entries vying for prizes.

Belgian pastry chef Mathieu Dierinck, a technical advisor to the Callebaut Chocolate Academy in Wieze, Belgium, made a stop at George Brown College in Toronto in late October to provide to demonstration to a crowd of industry professionals and students.

There is no language barrier when it comes to high-end patisserie.

On Thursday, May 12 Cacao Barry, in cooperation with George Brown College in Toronto, hosted a demonstration by chef Ramon Morato, an award-winning cookbook author and the global creative innovation leader with Cacao Barry, based at the Chocolate Academy training centre in Barcelona.

Customers are curious about what you do, how you do it, and how they can execute some of your tricks of the trade at home. Just look at the programming line up on Food Network Canada, the abundance of food and drink magazines lining the checkouts at your local grocery store, and the buffet of websites, blogs and social media accounts catering to self-proclaimed “foodies.”

Three creative star chefs and Cacao Barry chocolate proved an irresistible combination for students of George Brown College’s baking program.

To borrow from Bob Dylan, the times they are a-changing, and nowhere is that more evident than in the baking and pastry programs across the country. And the students are changing, too.