Riyadh Hassan, sales and marketing manager for the pastry division at Aramtec , shares development updates from the dessert industry.
Tell us about the latest products and ingredients on the market available for pastry chefs…
Popping Boba is a new concept dessert material which we’ve seen being introduced in many pastry kitchens. It comes in a ball shape with a very thin exterior skin filled with fruit juice, which is good to look at and eat. Delicious and fun, the juice-filled balls burst in the mouth to deliver a deep fruit flavour. It is now very popular in Europe and USA and can create a variety of menus.
Over the last 12 months, which ingredients have you witnessed an increased demand for in the pastry sector?
This year, we have seen that the demand for ‘ready to roll’ sugar fondant has increased dramatically. Our sales for ‘Pettinice Fondant by Bakels’ have tripled this year, when compared to last. Bakels Pettinice RTR fondant is considered one of the first ‘ready to roll’ fondants, and it is the preferred choice of most professional bakers. It tastes great, is easy to use, it doesn’t tear easily and it has great texture and molding ability.
Let’s talk chocolate! When it comes to low versus high-quality baking chocolate, what’s the difference?
The high-quality chocolate is usually made from single origin or a type of premium cocoa bean. The low-quality chocolate is produced out of beans from various sources that are mixed according to recipes to produce a moderate chocolate taste. The highest baking chocolate is manufactured by choosing only whole roasting beans implementation no nibs or mass roasting with conching for more than 72 hours.
Desserts are renowned for being pretty to look at. What are you witnessing in the market in terms of decorating trends?
Aramtec is a leading distributer of cake and pastry decorations and our distributed brand is Dobla, which stands for innovations in chocolate and doing things differently. At this moment in time, a move back to ‘Nature’ is trending. Early this year, Dobla launched a new range of chocolate decoration, inspired by nature. Each decoration is unique in design and as beautiful and imperfect as nature itself. According to international and panel research, consumers of today are showing an increased preference for imperfections in desserts and an overall natural look when it comes to decoration.
For pastry chefs overlooking various hotel outlets – as a supplier, how do you cater to high volume demands?
Aramtec owns 80 delivery vehicles and it delivers to all seven Emirates. We have a team of dedicated staff with many years of experience in dealing with high volume demand, and they’re assisted by Aramtec’s state-of-the art HACCP Certified Warehouse with efficient layout. The 110,000sq.ft. facility in the Al Quoz Industrial Area of Dubai allows us to store a lot of items in bulk quantities to cover the demand in peak season.
Of the ingredients offered by Aramtec , what products to you have on offer to pastry chefs that offer uniqueness?
Our new range of Filigrano Tart Shells by Hug Food Service, is a high-quality shortcrust pastry made out of 100% Swiss butter. The dough is also quite special as well as particularly thin and straight edged. The tart shells are shelf-stable for up to 12 months from the date of manufacture and stably thaw from frozen in a comprehensive selection of sizes, shapes and flavours of savory and dessert tartlettes.
What are the most premium pastry ingredients supplied by Aramtec to pastry divisions?
We provide premium quality premixes from Braun which is easy to use – in just a few steps you get delicious desserts. The highly versatile Braun collection is ideal for hotel restaurants and bakeries. We also provide Bakels comprehensive bakery line from sponge and muffin mixes to custard mixes. Never the less, Heistand is known as a time and labour saving brand name, supplying freshly baked croissant and assorted Danishes are available from frozen and don’t compromise on quality. We also supply Rich’s, which is America’s number one non-dairy whipping cream and frozen cookies.
Details: For more information visit Aramtec. If you enjoyed this story, you may like this article on China’s trillion-dollar halal investment.