iba Competitors Prepare
With iba 2009 weeks away, some participants are preparing their competitive edge for the bakery trade show.
Six teams of master bakers are battling it out to be awarded first place at the final of the First German Bakery Craft Championship on October 7 at iba. The teams have come through 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, with the winner’s presentation held on October 8 at 5pm.
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.
Visitors 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 October 3-6 trade visitors can attend these international title bouts and cheer on their favourite team from South Korea, China, Japan, Chile, Switzerland, Italy, Poland or Denmark, at the ZDB stand (Hall 11).
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 October 6 at 5pm.
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 ‘The 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 October 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 is the thinking behind the ‘Bread against Misery’ campaign, which is supported by iba 2009.
‘Bread against Misery’ passes on 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).
There are also 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’.