THE INAUGURAL Barbados Bakery and Pastry Expo at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Two Mile Hill, St Michael, was the place to be over the past two days for the finest in cakes, doughnuts, bread and cup cakes.
Organizer Dan Brinckmann said it was an opportunity for small to medium sized bakeries to showcase their products in a focused way without the distraction of other types of products.
Even though there were a few businesses present one may not have expected such as ProSecure Distributors Ltd.
“As the main suppliers for the Eastern Caribbean, we are here exhibiting our chef wear. We have a new line called Tropical Splendour to show that chef wear does not have to be the traditional black and white,” said operations manager Cheryl Belgrave.
In addition, the company also offered uniforms for other professions such as nursing, construction and housekeeping, as well as home security and law enforcement devices, not what would be expected at a Bakery Expo.
In addition, there were also coffee, ice cream, wines, cassava flour products on display and even mushroom broth to sample.
One interesting booth was I Am Pure Foods, a gluten, yeast and sugar-free indigenous flour catering company.
“We sell mixes for pancakes, pizza crusts [among others]. We currently offer gluten free, tapioca, faris and cassava flours but will soon be expanding to plantain, yam, breadfruit and sweet potato varieties,” said co-owner Yasmeen Waterman.
She said indigenous flour was great for diabetics and helped avoid cardiovascular disease but was a gourmet food.
“The way to think of it is that it is better to spend money now on something like this than it is to spend it on hospital bills or with an insurance company later,” she said.
Her husband, Mark Waterman, said healthy food alternatives were a hot topic now so they were aiming to be the source of a healthy alternative to wheat, which was becoming more and more expensive.
The DAILY NATION spoke to a couple of people visiting the Expo to get their views. One woman, who did not want to be identified, said it was a good way to see what was out there.
“It is very good to get to see what people have to offer; to see what there is on offer locally. I thought Bico was just an ice cream company but I see them here with cakes and pastries,” she said.
Another patron, Maureen Edwards, said she loved it but wanted to see more diabetic friendly displays.
“I love how you can come and see all the different products which you may not see in supermarkets. What I am concerned about is they don’t seem to be doing enough for diabetics but I would come again next year,” she said.
Brinckmann said the Barbados Diabetes Association was a part of the Expo performing checks and was asked to invite diabetic friendly companies. He said next year would be better in that regard.
Overall, he said he was happy with the turnout and the outcome of the two-day Expo, which ended yesterday.
“We haven’t received any complaints yet,” he observed. (CA)
