Surprises And Delights
The creative displays of desserts were amazingly creative. I loved them all.
On previous days I had seen the combi ovens which can be programmed to time to tell you when to cook multiple items of food in one batch so all the items of a grill are ready together. Finally, an oven which freezes hot cooked or leftover food for another day. That saves waste and time. And saves money.
Great news for the hotel owners, and chefs who live on site. But what of customers who go home after a business trip, and a chef who wants the same oven at home?
Unox were only interested in business to business. But I was wondering when these magic ovens would be made available for the domestic market. Up pops an email telling me that another company plans to launch the domestic equivalent. I suspect a simpler, cheaper version.
You can easily find the St Michel madeleines online.
On my way to the ice creams (gelato) I passed the stand of St Michel breads. I was impressed by their savoury rolls containing herbs. Their sign reads, St Michel, biscuiterie Familiale 1905. Galette & Madeleine The authentic French taste.
The madeleines are made in a double sided mould, often an elongated oval shell shape which looks like a fork has made grooves. I found several recipes online for herb madeleines. Herbs used could be parsley, mint, and thyme. Madeleines were famously featured at the start of Proust's trilogy, A La Recherche du Temps Perdue (in search of old times) triggering his memory.
Lovely Lavender Ice Cream
Several of the stands were giving out tastes of ice cream to all and sundry. Welcoming to all.
This might be because the family business was interested in all potential customers (like St Michel), whilst other stands were occupied by hired assistants just for the show who did not know the products. (On two stands I asked, 'Do you make ice cream suitable for diabetics?' I thought the vocabulary was too challenging. But on the second stand I received the reply, "I don't know. I don't work for the company.')
However, the next, pleasant, surprise, was a new flavour of ice cream. Lavender. I also tried two Japanese fruits, but they were bland. The lavender was also bland at first. Then an after taste, or rather after-aroma, wafts up and hits you! Lavender, definitely the one which makes me come back for more.
Who makes lavender ice cream? Confusingly, for me, some of the stand food was supplied by the makers of equipment or raw ingredients. Such as fruit powder. Not the finished product, such as ice cream.
If the show is a success, the makers of the equipment, and the suppliers of the raw ingredients, will have found local distributors and you will see these items in the supermarkets, restaurants and hotels of Asia and the world, if not soon, before too long. To parody a famous saying, this end of the show is not the end of the wait to see the new products and ingredients widely available, nor the begging of the end of the wait, but the end of the beginning.
Exhibitors included Angel (products including yeast), Greenhouse, Irca and Valrhona (French chocolate). Buyers included ubiquitous Singapore supermarkets, NUT Fairprice, and Prime Supermarket - who have 24 hour supermarkets in the 'heartlands'.
Display Only - Not For Consuption - Why!
Pavoni Italia make moulds for chocolate bars. After the show closed I passed their stand. The staff of the building were clearing up and allowed me to try a couple of the display chocolates. I was disappointed. I suppose they were not selling chocolate, but moulds. Anyway, the shapes created were impressive. The quality of the ingredients is up to you.
Many of the stands had signs on the food warning 'display only'. The ingredients might not be top quality, or had been sitting around in the heat for hours and were no longer safe and fresh, especially after the announcement that the show was closing and the electricity and refrigeration was turned off. Besides, UK chocolate is quite different to chocolate used in the USA and the tropics, which is not so much milk as a vegetable oil which won't melt at high temperatures, no creamy taste. So plain dark and white chocolate in the tropics tastes and feels awful. Instead of sucking on creamy textures, you need added nuts or dried fruit and strong fruit flavours.
Useful Websites
Next Year's Show
If you missed this year's show, or you missed an exhibitor, or you want to visit the next one, the new date for your new diary is April 25-28th.
If you need a new diary, 2023 diaries are out now. You can find diaries in various sizes in Singapore at Popular book store in Bukit Panjang Plaza, upstairs, and many other branches.
Useful Websites
The story of IRCA (From ingredients including pistaccio in Holland, across the border to Belgium, then to the USA and Asia.)
https://www.dobla.com/en-vn/about-dobla/history
French St Michel Madeleines
https://www.stmichel.com/int/en/our-products/detail/madeleines
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_(cake)
Lavender Ice Cream
https://www.lazada.sg/tag/lavender-ice-cream/
Combi Ovens - commercial
Speed-X - self-washing hyper speed oven
www.unox.com
info.asia@unox.com
Combi Ovens - domestic
A comparison of microwaves and steam ovens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8w-gjnLKOA
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