Caldic is now representing Nu-World Foods in Canada and the U.S.

McCall's bakery supplier has created a new product line of 250ml liquid gel food colours. The line marries bright and bold beauty with professional strength food colouring.

EquipmentWallet launched a new website designed to connect small businesses seeking equipment financing and leasing with the best equipment finance companies suited to their needs.

Erika Record Baking Equipment is now an exclusive distributor of Tagliavini commercial ovens. Made in Italy, Tagliavini serves retail, wholesale and industrial companies.

Unifiller Systems debuted its new Pro Series Food Service depositors, designed specifically for the rigorous demands of the food service sector.

IREKS North America is putting trendy new spin on an old grain with the debut of their Spelt and Yoghurt Cake Mix.

Baker's & Us is now offering global sea salt producer Zoutman Industries' high quality fine and coarse sea salts under their Marsel brand name.

Corbion released a new portfolio of emulsifiers that help bakers eliminate PHOs and reduce saturated fat in sweets. SweetPro is designed to protect consistency, improve tolerance and increase shelf stability in finished baked goods.

St-Pierre-de-l’Île-D’Orléans, Quebec-based Signature Pasquier prints personalized visuals on bread as well as on chocolate, and are proud to support bakers, chocolate makers, confectioners, and pastry chefs in their creativity.

Rubbermaid Commercial Products has launched its colour-coded foodservice system, a food prep and storage collection to help commercial kitchens reduce foodborne illness and cross-contamination issues. The colour-coded line ranges from prep tools to storage, including cutting boards, a cutting board rack, tongs, high-heat spatulas, square containers with lids and round containers with lids. Seven colour options are available, and kitchens can choose from eight different starter kit solutions, each including an implementation guide and a poster to help educate workers. All products are commercial dishwasher safe, and the high-heat spatulas are built to resist temperatures up to 500º F. www.rubbermaidcommercial.com

Revent has introduced its ONE Series rack ovens with a round baking chamber design, producing a slimmer yet more powerful commercial oven.

Unifiller launched its iPump at the International Baking Industry Expo (IBIE) in Las Vegas (Oct. 8-11, 2016).

Sometimes, all it takes is one cup of coffee to change your life.

Toronto — Butternut Baking is newly opened and serving paleo desserts, meaning they are free of grains and cane sugar. Many are also dairy-free or vegan. The Toronto Star reports. |READ MORE

Ellie Voortman was a critical force in turning a small 'country kitchen' into factory-size Oakrun Bakery. Here is a nod to her legacy written by Daniel Nolan for the Hamilton Spectator. |READ MORE

Parry Sound, ON — Meet two bakeries in the Muskoka cottage area of Ontario who are tackling modern challenges with small town charm. |READ MORE

Some successful bakeries discover their winning formula early and manage to keep it through decades of time. KUB Bakery in Winnipeg is one such place.

Notte’s Bon Ton Bakery will soon mark its 85th year in business in Vancouver, B.C. Since first opening in 1933, it hasn’t always been in the same location, but as the decades have rolled on, it’s retained the same charming character and adherence to pastries, cakes and other desserts made in traditional, time-tested ways.

It was all hands on deck this past February 28 at Blak’s Bakery. The regular staff of about 10 was bumped up to 40 that day, also known as Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday.

You can be the most talented baker or pastry chef the world has ever known, but if you don’t have the business sense and skills to back up your abilities in the kitchen, and you aren’t a lifelong learner keen to keep up with rapidly changing trends and tastes, you might never know success.

There are not so many people left who want to become a baker,” says Heiderose “Heidi” Claussing of the German Bakery in Port Annapolis, N.S. Claussing would know: She is a third-generation baker and co-owner of the bakery. Her husband, Dieter Claussing, is a Red Seal certified baker and master baker.

Satin Ice’s Artists of Excellence are elite cake artists from around the world who are all dedicated to their craft. Projecting exceptional talent, inventiveness with each creation and a strong passion for the Satin Ice brand, an Artist of Excellence embodies the true spirit of the cake decorating community and is an inspiration to cake artists all over the world.

As a-ha moments go, the one that conceived Junior’s Handmade Sourdough Pizza in Bowmanville, Ont., was a quiet but significant one. It came when, after years of working in the restaurant industry, Jade Chaput and husband Victor Hanc Jr. planned to get into the pizza business.

Strawberry season is finally here. Bakers Journal found this delectable cake recipe on sweetapolita.com.    

Bistro '67, the full-service teaching restaurant within the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food at Durham College, is taking its Cinco de Mayo celebrations to another level this year with a beautiful piñata-inspired dessert.

This recipe comes to Bakers Journal from Kristin Atwood, a student in Durham College’s advanced baking and pastry arts program (see feature story in Bakers Journal, April 2017).

April 7, 2017 -- Are you looking for a fun Easter activity to do with the kids or a simple yet lovely treat to bring to an Easter celebration? Pansy suckers are a sweet way to celebrate the season!

This earthy take on the traditional French madeleine was part of the Wild Blueberry Festival held at the Evergreen Brick Works farmers’ market in Toronto. The recipe uses heritage einkorn wheat and comes to us courtesy of both Edmund Rek of Evelyn’s Crackers—a regular at the Brick Works—and the Wild Blueberry Association of North America (www.wildblueberries.com).

This recipe comes from Jennifer Palmer, owner/operator of Jennifer’s Cakes in London, United Kingdom.

Packaged in cello a gingerbread cookie puzzle makes a perfect stocking stuffer or gift for friends and family. This recipe comes from Catherine Beddall’s new book, The Magic Of Gingerbread, that includes instructions for baking, constructing and decorating gingerbread creations from scratch.

Customers will enjoy buying, eating and sharing these classic treats, they’re also a great option to fill up lunch bags for young and old.

Apple Pear Caramel Praline PieCombining the best of the fall harvest fruits with pure sweetness and a bit of crunch, this recipe comes to us courtesy of Jenell Parsons of The Pie Hole in Vancouver.

As fall approaches, this hearty spiced cake incorporates vegetable, fruit and nuts for a wholesome offering. This recipe is courtesy the California Walnut Board & Commission. www.walnuts.org

For a light summer treat, tart but sweet, lemon meringue always fits the bill. This recipe comes from 2016 Jake the Baker award winner Joanna Schultz of Pikanik in White Rock, BC.

These recipes for blueberry torta and blueberry oatmeal breakfast bread are courtesy of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council and sure to please with fresh, simple flavours. www.blueberrytech.org

In recent years, you have likely seen amazing laminated dough pictures posted online by many great bakers. Lately, the layers are thicker in the finished products. The result is very defined layers of dough separated by the butter.

Bagels are like The Beatles of baking: an original rock star with legendary backstory and legions of enduring fans. Much like The Beatles experimented with sounds that strayed from their early days, the bagel is also finding its own version of Sgt. Pepper’s.

Consumer Reports offers five tips for managing food safety with flour in the wake of Canada's e.coli outbreak. |READ MORE

One of the top trends at Bakery Congress was investing in research and development to create innovations to meet consumer demands for traditional-style bread and baked goods with modern conveniences, including extended freshness and moistness and improved taste, appearance and nutrition.

Acrylamide is a naturally occurring compound that forms in certain foods, including breads, cakes, cookies, potatoes, crackers, cereals and snacks that are baked, fried or toasted. Boiling and steaming foods do not typically form acrylamide.

According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, between 2008 and 2012, the gluten-free market had a compound annual growth rate of more than 26 per cent and the global market is expected to hit US$6.2 billion by 2018.

Many consumers welcome ingredients they can see and pronounce on food packages. They value ingredient declarations that do not contain long lists of chemical-sounding words.

With the constant desire for more natural products and cleaner labels, bakers are facing a dilemma. Many are asking, “How do I delay mould growth without the addition of inhibitors?”

Tea has a long history originating from its Chinese and Indian heritage. It’s known as a comforting beverage, but well-publicized research about its health benefits has also helped its popularity.

In the last issue (see Bakers Journal, January/February 2017) I shared the results of a personal experiment I conducted with a sourdough starter (or levain) to determine just how resilient an established starter can be. Leaving two levains in my refrigerator, one for seven months, one for three months, I revived them with no problem over the course of four days.

Feb. 21, 2017, TORONTO -- March 1, 2017, marks the beginning of National Nutrition Month, an over 30 year old campaign designed to focus on bettering food choices and developing improved eating and physical activity habits for Canadians. According to StatCan in 2014, 20.8 per cent of Canadians over 18 are classified as obese, with poor eating choices acting as a major contributor. To help incorporate more nutrient-based items into Canadian diets, Victoria, B.C.-based raw foods chef Heather Pace shares five lesser-known ingredients that pack flavour and function into everyday recipes.

Many of my friends and family members are excellent bakers and some of them always talk and dream about opening a bakery. If you are thinking of opening your own bakery, let me tell you that you need a reality check checklist. Opening a bakery may seem like a piece of cake, but there is a lot involved in starting a new bakery and it can be a very costly venture.

Health Canada is proposing to ban the marketing of junk food to kids. This means anyone 17 and under. This regulation points to increased efforts to combat obesity and the diseases associated with it by starting with healthier children.

According to one Gallup poll, 50 per cent of employees leave their job because of their bosses. However other studies have shown that employees can leave for a number of other reasons such as opportunity, better pay, or more responsibility.

With the generational and workforce demographic challenges adversely impacting everybody's ability to attract, hire, engage, develop and retain people, you need a leg up on ensuring that you are putting your best foot forward in the employee selection process.

What does the word 'fine' mean coming from your bakery's customers? Customer service expert Shep Hyken takes a close look at the word and how it doesn't always mean your customer is happy.

Believe it or not, it’s possible for baker tenants.

When’s the last time you upgraded your oven or mixer? Perhaps it’s been a while.

The 2017 summer season will likely bring more tourists to your city or community since it will include a major birthday for Canada.

Owners of independent bakeries surely have been told how important it is for them, as small businesses, to have an online and social media presence.

The end is nigh for hydrogenated oils in Canada. The writing is on the wall, the chickens are coming home to roost, the clock strikes midnight – you get the picture. Time is almost up.

Mississauga, Ont. – The Restaurants Canada Show, which took place Feb. 26-28 in Toronto, marked Canada’s 150th birthday by celebrating the diversity of Canadian food culture and the unity of the foodservice industry along with its challenges and strengths.

Mark your calendar for HostMilano 2017, one of the world’s top trade shows for companies in the foodservice, food retail, and hotel industries.

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.

April 27, 2015, Ottawa -- Though most Canadians don't like to admit to essential skills deficiencies, a new report from the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF-FCA) suggests that individuals stand to earn more by investing in upgrading skills such as numeracy and problem-solving.

Dec. 11, 2014, Ottawa -- With 91 per cent of educators convinced skilled tradespeople will always be in demand, there is a strong case for connecting students to hands-on activities and accurate employment data, suggests a report released yesterday by the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF-FCA).

As a chef and instructor for the culinary institute at George Brown College in Toronto, I need to have a down-pat process for developing recipes that will be successes in the classroom. Perhaps you are considering expanding your business by teaching classes.