bake - November 2013 - 40

Top Challenge
Romantic Paris is again the setting for Europain 2014, which
promises to transport those who attend into a magical wonderland of dainty macarons, exquisite chocolates and the most
ﬂavorful breads and pastries on the planet.
Scheduled for March 8-12, 2014, at the spacious Paris-Nord
Villepinte exposition center, Europain & Intersuc combine forces
to create an expansive global trade event for bakery, pastry,
ice cream, chocolate and confectionery. The 2012 show, also in
Paris, drew 82,690 visitors from 143 countries.
Beyond the massive numbers of exhibitors at Europain (there
were 770 exhibitors in 2012), the event offers a host of worldclass competitions in the ﬁelds of baking, confectionery and

Mike Zakowski is one of two bakers who will represent the United States at

more.

the Bakery Masters competition next spring in Paris.

The Bakery Masters competition brings together the 24 top
candidates from the Louis Lesaffre Cups in 2009 and 2011 and

TO GAIN FURTHER INSIGHT INTO WHAT'S AHEAD FOR THE

the 2012 Bakery World Cup. During the Bakery Masters, partici-

US COMPETITORS, BAKE MAGAZINE ASKED MIKE ZAKOWSKI

pants will compete in one of three categories (bread, Viennese

AND HARRY PEEMOELLER ABOUT THEIR PLANS FOR

pastry and artistic creations) for the prestigious title of Master

COMPETING IN THE 2014 BAKERY MASTERS.

Baker.
bake: What are your thoughts going into the competition?
Two bakers-Mike Zakowski and Harry Peemoeller-are
representing the United States in the 2014 Bakery Masters.

Mike Zakowski: My thoughts are to work on some new and

Zakowski, who is competing in the bread category, runs his

exciting breads, have fun and, of course, go for gold.

own small retail shop called the Bejkr Bake Shop in Sonoma,
CA. Peemoeller, who will compete in the artistic competition,

Harry Peemoeller: OMG, here we go again...a once in a

is senior instructor at the College of Culinary Arts, Johnson &

lifetime chance and experience. On one hand, you wish you

Wales University, in Charlotte, NC.

would be one of the few picked and invited, but this is also
a large time commitment and a crazy thing called life goes

The competition will be held within the framework of the

on while you spend endless hours practicing. For example,

Europain exhibition on March 8-12. It will take place at the

my daughter is growing up too fast; she is a sophomore in

"Cube" dedicated demonstrations area within the Paris-Nord

high school with all the drama that complements that expe-

Villepinte exhibition center. Candidates need to embody tomor-

rience. And I thought working on a bread-showpiece is a

row's baking trends, using imagination and innovation.

mental rollercoaster of excitement, disappointment, loving/
hating a concept or idea, fatigue, etc. However, Paris is the

To learn more about the Europain, visit www.europain.com or

mecca of bread baking, the Masters at Europain is a premier

www.facebook.com/EuropainFrance.

event, let's do it one more time.

40 < NOV 2013 | bakemag.com

http://www.europain.com http://www.facebook.com/EuropainFrance http://www.bakemag.com

bake - November 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of bake - November 2013