At HostMilano desserts have always been a prominent feature of the Pastry Bar Coffee Machines Vending and Gelato macro-area, in and of itself and in all its many and various forms: in food service, in coffee and in gelato. So it is no coincidence that the second edition of HostMilano’s new social media platform, HoReCa Bites, focused on well-known pastry chef and maître chocolatier Ernst Knam, who is German by birth, has made Milan his home and is known internationally as the “King of Chocolate”. HoReCa Bites caught up with him in his historic pastry shop in Via Anfossi, Milan.

What are the trends in pastry for 2022?

Carefully studying where ingredients come from, using less sugar and less fat, making lighter desserts. But I have to say I do still need to taste proper flavours.

What professional equipment is indispensible for pastry makers today?

Definitely the tempering machine for chocolate and the dough sheeter for pastry: it’s quick, accurate and gives consistently good results, no matter who is using it. But the most important things of all are our hands, because without them we wouldn’t be able to do anything.

What do you find interesting about HostMilano?

It’s important for me because you can find all sorts of things there for everything from breakfast to evening cocktails. I know I’m a pastry chef and a chocolatier, but I like to get an all-round view of things. So I don’t just go to see pastry equipment, I like to look at the kitchens where they do breakfast, and also find out what’s happening in cocktails because many pastry chefs take inspiration from the world of mixology. There are lots of useful kitchen machines we can use if we want to do things in a more advanced and innovative way.

What have you got in store for this Easter?

This year we have three new additions: a chocolate egg with a letter K brushed onto it, then a new egg that reinterprets the traditional form but is also inspired by the art of Botero (it can stand up on its own), and finally after so many years of research I have finally found a sustainable kind of packaging that keeps everything intact, so I can dispatch eggs all over the world without them breaking.