Verona, the renaissance town of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, home to a summer opera, daily street market and, every third year, Italy’s premier baking show.

Verona’s centre is compact and traffic-free. There are taxis and tiny buses if you want help to roam, but one of the early morning pleasures is to wander the old streets, pop in the busy bakeries, buy a prosciutto roll perhaps, then stop at one of the renowned patisseries for an espresso and cake. Now you are ready to visit the show.

Bakers from all over Italy, Europe and further afield enjoy coming to SIAB. Italian bakers and confectioners are equally passionate about baking machinery, durum wheat, and delicious cakes and desserts filled with confectioners’ custard or the latest concoction, which for summer may include ice-cream instead of cream.

Italy is also, of course the land of the pizza. So small bakers up to large producers are catered for at the show.

But bread and confectionery take centre stage. Polin always has an enormous stand, and names such as Mondial Forni, Zuchelli Forni and others, which have British agents, are also present.

The latest launches will include energy-saving ovens, dough-processing lines, depositors in short everything to do with dough make-up and pastry production.

And if you need inspiration for shopfittings and counters, the Italians are renowned for their design flair.

Events:

lBreads of the World demonstrations
lWorld Pastry team championships
lRenaissance Breads demonstrations
lMaster Pizza competition
lSpeciality breads and breads for restaurants

Information

When: Saturday 22 May Wednesday 26 May
Where: Veronafiere, about one mile outside Verona city centre on
the main bus and taxi routes
How to get there from the UK:
By air: Fly to Verona, or Brescia airport (both with direct buses to the city centre of Verona). Or fly to Milan and take the train to Verona.
Where to stay: Google the SIAB Bakery show 2010 and choose from a list of hotels or telephone the organisers on +39 045 8298111.
Where to eat and drink: You are spoilt for choice, but La Bottega del Vino has an excellent mid-priced menu and some incredible wines.
To register
l Go to the site: www.siabweb.com and follow the instructions.
l SIAB staff are happy to help with any further information or support you may require. Tel: +39 045 8298111

Sara Carmignola, project manager, SIAB

"We look forward to welcoming British visitors to SIAB, which, over the years, has become an increasingly international show to the point of becoming one of the reference exhibitions for the sector, not only in Italy but abroad. Thanks to a very high level of technological innovation, SIAB is renowned for updates in the bread, pastry, confectionery and pizza fields. After a gap of three years, the exhibition, taking place again in Verona, will illustrate the evolution of the market, which, despite the general recession at the moment, does not seem to have diminished the enthusiasm of the bakery sector an important driving force in any economy.
"This is why, once again, SIAB ranks as an eagerly awaited occasion among trade operators. It will showcase many aspects for small businesses and industrial bakeries, as well as pointing to future trends. There will also be an impressive programme of demonstrations, new recipes, and competitions."

Selected new products

l RM FORNI
RM Rotor Ovens: the Rotating Oven guarantees baking uniformity for any type of product, from first to last trays, says the firm. The heat exchanger is steel, resistant to high temperatures and said to give high thermal efficiency, using minimum energy.
Rack rotation is on the upper part of the oven, making it easy to clean. The steam generators are controlled by an automatic device and steam supply can be set from zero to 60 seconds.

l TRIVENDING
Easy Bread: this automatic bakery product vending machine offers a 24-hour service to customers in any transit situation outside the shop, in high traffic areas, on delivery routes or even in areas with few facilities. It provides just-in-time products during times of maximum customer request, says the company.
Easy Bread offers a range of products, including bread, speciality breads, bread sticks and fresh snacks, and allows direct management of the product by the manufacturer.

l ORVED
OPM and VGP: the OPM line is a fully-automated high-tech machine for thermo-sealing and packaging any type of preformed tray in vacuum- and modified atmosphere, and any kind of foodstuff, including pizzas, rolls and sandwiches. Its sister VGP machine is constructed from stainless steel and is able to reach 99% vacuum level and inject up to 100% gas, without the aid of a compressor, says the firm, which claims it is suitable for small shops or large stores.

KOMSA ITALIA
Protective systems: the Antimet dumper isolation valve is designed to prevent an explosion in one system part from spreading to another. Meanwhile, the Antidet Suppressor is used to protect plants and operators from the adverse effects of an explosion caused by dust/air mixtures, by suppressing the explosion inside an enclosed plant.

l ARTIGIANCARTA
’Europa series’ tray: while respecting EU directives regarding the suitability of containers for direct food contact, this tray pays particular attention to design and presentation. The tray is 100% water-repellent, biodegradable and decomposable.
Heat-moulded trays for biscuits: these are used for packing products, such as chocolates, pralines and shortbreads. The high vertical sides surround and protect the product without hiding it. Brilliant gold film is used to enhance product presentation and the tray base features a tread option, which prevents the product moving, so it can be flow-packed without the goods being ruined or squashed.

l ICB TECNOLOGIE
Choco temper: a new chocolate temperer that melts and tempers chocolate extremely fast. Touchscreen technology makes it easy to use and set up, says the company, and the constant tempering action makes it possible to obtain a continually fluid chocolate.

l AGUGIARO & FIGNA MOLINI
Powdered mother yeast: this yeast offers more acidity than standard yeasts in the market. Using wholewheat flours and long fermentation, it provides a lot of acidity and flavours in the sourdough. Thanks to a new drying machine, that works at low temperatures, the yeast maintains this acidity and flavour in the final product. The final bread is said to have a better taste, longer-lasting freshness and is more resistant to mould.

SIAB 2007: 400 exhibitors from 15 countries; over 50sq m of space; over 50,000 visitors from 83 countries