Countdown to IBA 2009 in Germany

Oct. 1, 2009, DUSSELDORF, Germany – The global baking industry is set to converge at the IBA 2009 trade show, beginning Saturday, Oct. 3, in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Bakers Journal advertising manager Stephanie Jewell will be attending the show, which runs until Oct. 9, and bakersjournal.com will be bringing you updates periodically throughout the duration of IBA 2009.

Today, we spotlight the IBA 2009's baking competitions. In football the same teams are always favourites for the trophy, but among bakers the contest is completely open, because the German champion is being chosen at IBA 2009 for the very first time. Six teams have come through the qualifying rounds held in Dresden, Lochham and Olpe, and the qualifying teams, each made up of two master bakers, will need all their skill and ability in the final of the first German Bakery Craft Championship. In accordance with the competition theme "Typically German," they will be making breads, small baked products, fine yeast dough pastries, Danish pastries and puff pastry products and a showpiece in Hall 11 at the German Bakers’ Confederation (ZVB) stand.

But who will be the winner? Who will interpret the theme in the best and most creative way? All these questions will be answered on Oct. 7 and 8 (presentation ceremony at 5 p.m. on Oct. 8). But one thing is already clear: we can expect a closely fought contest between the six teams, consisting of Beate Diers and Torsten Hacke, Alexander Schellenberger and Rene Krause, Johannes Hirth and Jörg Schmid, Michael Gauert and Thomas Scholz, Lars Wickenburg and Thomas Pohl, Stephan Bockmeier and Johanna Morshäuser.

There will be more excitement at the Bakers’ World Championship, the IBA Cup. From Oct. 3 to 6 trade visitors can attend these international title bouts and cheer on their favourites free of charge at the ZDB stand (Hall 11). Whether you are rooting for the national team from South Korea, China, Japan, Chile, Switzerland, Italy, Poland or Denmark, riveting contests for the highest international award are in store!

Dexterity, creativity and speed are required to implement the theme "Representing the Homeland." Only the very best is good enough, as the jury assesses appearance, flavour and variety of the showpieces produced. The president of the International Union of Bakers and Bakers-Confectioners and the ZDB, Peter Becker, will then present the cup to the winning country on Oct. 6 at 5 p.m.

The bakers of tomorrow will be showcasing their skill in the Young Bakers’ Cup on Oct. 9. And once again we wonder who will be standing on top of the rostrum? Three bakers’ guilds – Rhine-Ruhr, Bonn Rhine-Sieg and Cologne-Erft district – are vying against each other for the award. Two trainees in their third year of apprenticeship will be displaying masterly performances in plaiting and shaping dough.

Top performances are also to be expected at the Competition for Apprentices held by the Association of German Confectioners (DKB). There are two competition classes, Gateau Trends 2009 and Best Display Window. In the first category confectioners will win awards for the best decorated gateau and the shape of their cake, and in the second an award will be given to the best shop window display by salespeople in the confectionery trade. The specialist jury assesses design, decoration, skill and originality. Trade visitors also
get their money’s worth: they can inspect the competition pieces at the DKB stand (17B47) throughout the seven days of IBA and possibly get ideas and inspiration for their own business. The presentation for the brightest hopes for the future takes place at the Association of German Confectioners’ stand at midday on Oct. 9.

All the championships have one thing in common: the top performances on display at IBA would not be possible without first-class training. But there is still a lot to do before these opportunities are available worldwide and this the thinking behind the Bread against Misery campaign, which is supported by IBA 2009. Germany in particular, as the host country of the World Market for Baking, is in the vanguard of training and supporting the next generation of bakers.

Bread against Misery passes on this specialist expertise, so that young people in less privileged regions of the world receive professional training as bakers, which then leads to new opportunities and a better future. Anyone who would like to support this social work can make a donation in the collecting boxes at the east and north entrances. Further information on the aid projects is available to those who are interested at the Bread against Misery stand (11D39). And who knows – perhaps the next winners at IBA 2012 in Munich will come from one of the sponsored countries?

As well as this short overview there are many training and continuing education seminars at the German Bakers’ Academy (ADB) over the seven days of the fair. The International Baking Academy (IBA) in Weinheim is also offering a six-week training course for bakers, conducted in English. In addition there will be tours of German bakeries for foreign trade visitors. The complete and detailed programme can be found on the homepage at www.iba.de under "Fringe programme."