Ever-rising popularity
TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT? When was the last time you restrained yourself from eating that rich slice of chocolate cake for fear of putting on the extra pounds, even though your tongue was salivating for a little bit of indulgence?
Over the past few years, the get-fit-and-healthy fad has taken Asia by storm, with people becoming more health-conscious and eager to do regular exercise, even if that means squeezing in a quick gym session during lunch hour. People are now as conscious about what they put into their mouths as they are about how much time they allocate to working out.
Not surprisingly then, bakeries in Hong Kong are adjusting their offerings to suit a more health-conscious population, maintaining a balance between satisfying the palate and helping people to keep a slim waistline.
Bakeries are offering increasingly healthy products; low-fat breads and cakes using whole grain and sometimes organic ingredients, and less oil and salt content, to ensure customers keep coming back.
'It is vital to think up new ideas and innovative products, so customers return because your quality products are new, interesting and fresh,' said Derek Liu, managing director of Hong Kong BreadTalk, a new bakery chain in the city.
But a successful bakery cannot simply focus on pure health offerings alone. It must strike a balance between healthy products and treats, because there are still consumers who want to indulge themselves in butter croissants or rich chocolate cake.
Stephen Wright, international fine foods director of Gourmet and Great Food Hall, said: 'To become an authoritative bakery, you have to offer the extremes on health and premium indulgence.'
The bakery at Great has one of the city's most comprehensive selections of bread types at Pacific Place. There are hundreds of breads and cake variations, appealing to both European and Asian tastes.
Product offerings aside, consumers also demand more from bakeries in terms of their overall look and feel. The open kitchen concept, in particular, is expected to lead the trend in the future. Open kitchens allow people to see for themselves the baking process in terms of what ingredients are used and how the products are made.
From a retail perspective, an open kitchen conveyed an exciting theatre and animation effect, Mr Wright said. Consumers also have greater access to freshly baked breads and cakes, rather than relying on deliveries from centralised kitchens.
Bakers can also exercise better wastage control because they can make products based on the day's demand.
Some in the industry believe the pull of open kitchen bakeries is so strong that they could attract two to three times more business than ordinary bakeries without open kitchens.
Mr Liu said: 'If you knew there was an on-site open kitchen at a particular bakery just a few metres away from a bakery that depended on deliveries from a centralised kitchen, wouldn't you rather walk those few extra steps to get a product that is hot and fresh, rather than a cold bun that has been sitting around for half a day.'
Eve Leung, marketing manager of cakes and bakery division for Maxim's Caterers, said even though open kitchens might be the future trend, the process was expensive, and not always feasible, depending on the location. Hong Kong's largest bread and cake chain retailer has 145 bakeries, 25 of which have on-site kitchens, while the remaining stores rely on deliveries from its centralised kitchen.
Meanwhile, career prospects for bakers are definitely good, according to the Hospitality Industry Training and Development Centre at the Vocational Training Council, which offers a one-year, full-time course in western baking and pastry making.
The overall job placement rate of graduates in recent years has been impressive, at 95 per cent and above. This year about 50 per cent of the most recent graduates took up jobs at various food and beverage and hotel outlets in the newly opened Disneyland.
Once bakers enter the real world, they will discover that it is the type of business where training is essential and never really ends because products are always changing and customer tastes never stop evolving.
Unlike other jobs you might have fallen into by accident, this profession is one you make a conscious decision to join, and what you make comes straight from the heart.
Mr Wright said: 'Being a baker is similar to being a chef. It is not just a job. For bakers, baking is a passion. Good people in a bakery have a natural aptitude for it, as well as enthusiasm for creative input, and obviously the technical skills.'
KEY PLAYERS
Baker
Pastry chef
Shop manager
Sales and marketing executive
Research and product development staff
Accountant
JARGON
Barley flour
A low-gluten flour made from hulled barley that imparts a sweet taste and a relative lightness to cakes, cookies and quick breads.
Confectioners' sugar
A granulated sugar that has been crushed into a fine powder.
Creaming
Using beaters, a mixer or large spoon to mix fats and sugars until creamy in appearance.
Fermentation
A process by which a food goes through a chemical change precipitated by enzymes produced from yeast, bacteria, or micro-organisms. In baking, this refers to the first stages after a bread dough is developed and before it is shaped. This stage helps leaven the dough and develop the bread's flavour.
