MILANO – This year at HostMilano there will be particular interest in the macro area devoted to coffee and tea, ice cream and pastries, which are crossing over with each other more and more in new-millennium bars, cake shops and ice cream parlours.
At HostMilano, they will feature in two world championships which F.I.P., the International Federation of Pastry Ice Cream and Chocolate and Equipe Eccellenze Italiane (the Italian Excellence Team) will be organising at the fair for the second time: The World Trophy of Pastry Ice Cream Chocolate 2017 (21 and 22 October) and the Cake Designers World Championship 2017 (23 and 24 October).
At the first of these, 20 pastry cook teams, each with three competitors and a coach, will challenge each other in Chocolate and Praline Sculpture, Sugar and Contemporary Cake Sculpture, Sugar Paste Sculpture and Ice-Cream Single Serving.
The countries taking part are France, Australia, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, Albania, Kyrgyzstan, Bulgaria, Thailand, Greece, China, United Arab Emirates, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Romania, Mexico, Morocco, Tunisia, Bolivia and Spain.
The 20 individual contestants in the cake design section will be required to present two creations: a previously made display cake to be judged on its appearance, and a cake to be made there and then which will judged on flavour.
These contestants will come from Japan, Slovakia, Italy, Trinidad & Tobago, France, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Poland, USA, Peru, Sri Lanka, Puerto Rico, Macao, Serbia, Hong Kong, Hungary, Greece, United Arab Emirates, the UK and Brazil.
In 11 pillole di marketing (“11 marketing tips”) marketing lecturer Franco Cesare Puglisi will give 11 short lessons at the Editrade stand, where he will illustrate the latest techniques for effective communication of the special qualities of gelato and pastry craftsmanship.
Crossovers between the sectors is the theme of Dolcinarte, where Chiriotti Editori, with “Pasticceria Internazionale” and “Tutto Gelato”, in synergy with CookeryLab, will present a series of creations involving the use of sugar, chocolate, sugar paste and royal icing.
This event will take visitors on a multi-sensory journey through the world of cake decoration, allowing them to move freely around the exhibits.
“Pastry Magazine” is organising a 400-sq.m. Art Gallery displaying over 200 works, with live Italian and international pastry cook demonstrations: sculptures in sugar, chocolate, sugar paste, vegetable carving, and live demonstrations on how to create cakes and pastries.
But there will also be lessons on chemistry and merchandise, and on sales, product packaging and marketing techniques that pastry cooks should use to boost sales, while M.I.U.R. (the Ministry for Higher Education and Research) will hold a debate on the importance of professional development.
The space devoted to pastry and ice cream, HostMilano ’s sweet centre, leads this year through an experience gallery to one of the key moments of the International Hospitality Exhibition: SIC, the International Coffee Show.
Here, there will be many opportunities to learn more, in the presence of sector experts and associations, with latte art, master classes and challenges between emerging youngsters.
Fantasie al Caffè (“Imaginative Coffee”) is the competition being organised by F.I.P.E., the Italian Federation of Public Establishments, designed to highlight the ideas of those who wish to offer something new regarding coffee, perhaps in the form of new sweet or savoury recipes, new bar ideas or on using coffee in cooking.
The top five will be invited to present their ideas at the F.I.P.E. stand together with well-known chefs in the show cooking displays entitled Caffè in Tavola e Non Solo… (“Coffee at the Table and Beyond…”), where they will become the testimonials of experiences involving coffee, used also in cooking as an aroma capable of enhancing flavour and adding an exotic touch to recipes.
Pillole di Discussione (“Discussion Points”), meanwhile, is a format in which different ways of enhancing the use of coffee will prompt a debate among testimonials of the different experiences.
Not to be missed on 21 and 22 October, is the 5th Italian Coffee Grand Prix, organised by AICAF, the Italian Academy of Coffee Masters and, for the finals, supported by the coffee importers and roasters association ALTOGA: the recipe put forward to the judges who will select the best barista from the 15 finalists, must contain at least one traditional Italian food and wine ingredient.
And at ALTOGA’s Big Coffee Village there will also be workshops, competitions, courses and interactive activities for the general public, who will have the opportunity to taste numerous types of coffee, either in the form of espresso or made using alternative methods such as manual drip, aeropress or syphon.
Through the presentation of different consumer experiences based on coffee and spirits, the new Café Chronology concept (produced by the team World Coffee Events team, in partnership with M.U.M.A.C.) will offer the chance to experience coffee culture from the early 20th century to the present day, with a range of experiences that will immerse visitors in materials and culture relating to the beverage, including historic coffee-making equipment and with the recreation of period aromas and furnishings.
In “The Magic of Mixability” run by Mixer Educational, mixology and cookery experts will use tradition to explain and teach professionals about the properties and benefits of natural herbs.
Hub Coffee Science, on the other hand, is a workshop with two exploratory sequences illustrating the scientific principles behind water and coffee.
Other competitions for professional bartenders include, on 21 and 22 October, the Italian Espresso Champion 2017, a barista contest organised by I.N.E.I. (the National Italian Espresso Institute).
In this race against the clock, 15 international baristas will be required to prepare four espressos and four cappuccinos in just 11 minutes, under the watchful eye of the sensorial judges of the International Coffee Tasters Institute (I.I.A.C.).
The Milano Latte Art Challenge 2017, finally, is a new competitive format among 12 baristas chosen from among the world’s best Latte Artists, and developed by the Trismoka team.
