Summary of BAKEPOL 2011
Fair That Arouses Emotions
3rd Edition of the BAKEPOL Baking and Confectionery Industry Fair
Poland’s largest bakery and confectionery trade event for 2011, organized for the third time in Kielce by the Międzynarodowe Targi Poznańskie, gathered an impressive number of almost 130 companies from Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Great Britain, who presented over 80 new products and technological solutions for today's bakeries and confectioneries. For five days (2-6 April) over 5 500 professionals got acquainted with the exposition, a 10% increase compared to the previous edition.
Among fair guests were both representatives from small, artisanal bakeries and confectioneries, as well as those of large, mass producers. There were also managers representing retail chains and baking and confectionary students. Visitors were mainly from Poland’s south-east region, but also from Warsaw, Łódź, Lublin, Kraków, Silesia, virtually all of Poland, and even Eastern Europe, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic. The fair was also visited by a delegation of Russian experts, organized by the Saint-Petersburg Institute for Management and Food Technologies. Present among the delegation were sales and marketing directors, heads and engineers from technological departments, directors of shopping centres, and representatives of technical universities. Delegation participants met with exhibitors and representatives of professional organizations, as well as participated in presentations conducted by bakery and confectionery masters held during the Bakers and Confectioners Craftsmen’s Forum, and presentations prepared by exhibitors. They also visited local bakeries and confectionaries.
An Effective Meeting Place
BAKEPOL is a place to meet, exchange knowledge and opinions, and establish contacts between exhibitors and the buyers of their products. Exhibitors emphasized the positive overtone at fair meetings, which often leads to orders and finalization of contracts. For representatives of foreign companies, participation in the fair was also an excellent opportunity to acquire broad knowledge of the Polish market and establish numerous contacts as a basis for opening branches in Poland.
Fair visitors tested "live" specific devices and even complete production lines, enriched their knowledge on modern IT solutions and technologies for raising production efficiency and quality, savoured raw ingredients, semi-finished products, and additives. They learned about bakery and confectionery components that improve the taste and aesthetic value of finished products, and also drew inspiration for the decoration of confectionery delicacies. In attendance were the manufacturers and distributors of raw ingredients, as well as baking, confectionery, and ice-cream additives, machines and equipment for bread kneading, pastry production, machines for forming, dosing and confectioning, and baking ovens, as well as packaging and product storage systems. Interesting presentations were given of cake stands, a wide range of accessories required by bakers and confectioners in their day-to-day work - baking sheets and forms, aluminium and stainless steel moulds, turners, spatulas, measuring cups, scoops, brushes, and many more.
Practice Makes Perfect
On the exhibition grounds exhibitors presented entire production lines: from kneading and forming dough, through to baking in professional ovens, dosing, and decorating the finished products. One could also get acquainted with the principles behind the operation of donut fryers, watch demonstrations of baking cutting techniques, applying icing, chocolate and jelly, and washing and cleaning confectionery equipment. Also presented were all kinds of ways to bake bread, rolls, baguettes, and challahs, as well as waffle baking, preparation of cakes and pralines, and their decoration. Moreover, exhibitors shared interesting recipes and presented methods for packaging bread, grilled cheese baguettes, and confectionery goods in stretch type foils, and cake products in cartons for various occasions. On-site bakers and confectioners encouraged all to taste and assess the effects of their work - spelt and rye rolls, pasties, French pastries, muffins, poppy-marzipan cakes, brûlée tarts, donuts, and tartlets – a wealth of forms, flavours, and tastes that made all dizzy. Fair visitors, lured by the enticing smell of baked goods, experienced the unique pleasure of tasting delicious, freshly prepared snacks. Also sampled were new flavours of cold desserts, including frozen yogurt and coffees.
Refined recipes and flavour compositions were presented during the shows that took place at the Bakers and Confectioners Craftsmen’s Forum. Baking and confectionary masters presented techniques in baking rolls sprinkled with Acacia flowers, buns fermented in birch sap, banquet rolls for catering, and breads baked on rocks covered with nettle, cabbage, and potatoes. Presented during a special show by Baking Master Józef Ziółkowski were the secrets of making and baking delicious challahs, braids, and croissants. Inspirations for decorating English-style wedding and birthday cakes and caramel Easter decorations were delivered by confectioners that presented their skills at making ornaments with marzipan and caramel. Visitor interest was most focused on intricate marzipan figurines – clowns, hedgehogs, mice, Easter chicks and bunnies, and characters from fairy tales and Walt Disney cartoons. Fair visitors could try their own hand at making these miniature, sweet works of art.
Next Meeting of Bakers and Confectioners
The next fair meeting for the confectionery and bakery trade will be held during 7-11 October 2012 at the Exhibition of Baking and Confectionery Industry, POLAGRA-TECH International Trade Fair of Food Processing Technologies in Poznań. The fourth edition of BAKEPOL will occur in 2013.
