On a cruise, in a hotel, at a service station or in a café, restaurant or pastry shop the smell of freshly-baked bread or cakes has a time-honoured ability to make us feel good, evoking memories of childhood in people everywhere. Which is precisely why baking has come back into the limelight in the difficult times we are living through in a way not seen for many years.

We asked some HostMilano buyers how the world of bakery has changed. At each edition of the fair, over 1,500 Hosted Buyers from 80 countries come to Milan to discover all the latest ideas, see product previews and take part in seminars and meetings that offer a glimpse of hospitality trends to come. And that is precisely what will be happening once again at the next edition, which will run from 22 to 26 October 2021.

“The smell of fresh bread is an indication of quality, therefore we bake bread 24/7 on all our cruise vessels,” says Bernhard Klotz, vice-president for Food & Beverage on Oceania Cruises – Regent Seven Seas Cruises. “We have seven different restaurants and in each restaurant we have a different bread basket representing the culture of that restaurant. We find that our guests like an international bread selection. This ranges from Austrian sourdough bread to Italian ciabatta to French baguette or American bagels. International baked goods are not only very popular on the breakfast tables, but also for lunch, dinner and snacking throughout the day. Of course breakfast is an extravaganza for our guests, starting with assorted Danish pastries, croissants, almond croissants, pain au chocolat, artisanal breads, a multigrain and healthy bread selection, bagels, muffins, warm sticky buns and much more. On a seven-day cruise our guests can taste about 50 different bread selections and 50 different breakfast pastries. Our guests really enjoy European-style healthy breads and rolls with grains and seeds throughout the day.”

And more generally, how is the bakery sector doing in the United States? “Sweet pastries are having quite a moment right now: people want comfort food and that includes bakery products like pastries, cupcakes, doughnuts, muffins and typical American cookies. The demand was already strong before the pandemic, however now many people started baking at home because they are furloughed or work from home.”

Another HostMilano buyer, Paolo Vassallo, head of international sales for AmeChef (a restaurant equipment and supplies store in Miami serving southern Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean) adds: “We have in fact noted some changes in consumption and so decided to make some adjustments and changes to the products we purchase. There has been a big increase in delivery services, and we are also returning to artisanal processes. Many people are now cooking in their own homes.”