InterSICOP 2024 welcomed more than 16,000 professionals from the bakery, patisserie, ice-cream and coffee industry.

InterSICOP 2024, the leading international trade fair for the bakery, patisserie, ice-cream, coffee and equipment industry in the Iberian Peninsula, held its fourteenth edition, organised by IFEMA MADRID from 17 to 20 February, with record participation numbers and a high level of attendance and follow-up activities. In total, the trade fair welcomed 16,062 professionals from 61 countries, who had the opportunity to access the innovations of 175 companies from 18 countries (Algery, Austria, Belgium, Egypt, Spain, USA, France, Guatemala, Italy, Kuwait, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, UK, Rep. Check, Rumania, Sweden and Turkey).

InterSICOP 2024 once again became the great showcase for all the new products on the market, the result of innovation in both trends and technological advances in each sector. Visitors were able to discover everything from gourmet ingredients, such as high-pressure processed fruit purées, to vegetable gels for faux spherification and chocolate coatings that add an aromatic character, as well as of all types of packaging solutions, including containers that reduce the carbon footprint. And under the TECSICOP brand, the show displayed a wide range of technology and machinery, from pasteurisers to achieve homogeneous mixtures for the production of home-made ice cream to combi ovens that interact with bakers, and dishwashers that guarantee maximum safety in washing and disinfection.

 Packed technical seminars                                                  

One of the highlights of InterSICOP 2024 was the interesting programme of technical seminars and demonstrations given by leading bakers, pastry chefs and ice-cream makers. A total of 16 seminars were held, bringing together 1,067 participants. Visitors had the opportunity to see chefs such as Jose Romero working live, who gave an in-depth presentation of one of his specialities, panettone; Toni Rodríguez, who analysed the evolution of vegan patisserie over the last 20 years; Albert Soler and David Gil, who taught visitors how to apply enzymes in ice-cream making; Irene Iborra, who provided the keys to her method of making ice cream from memories; Marcos Díaz (MMAPE 2022), who presented pieces with 3D volume; the pastry duo formed of Jacob and Sergio Torreblanca; Lluc Crusellas, who instructed attendees on some of the chocolate techniques that have led him to become the current World Chocolate Masters champion, and Luis Luque, who presented a new fat profile in vegan ice-cream.

Alejandro de Miguel, César Romero, Ricard Martínez, Oscar Palacio, Juan Ángel Rodrigálvarez, Jordi Guillem, Pelayo Muñiz and Ester Roelas completed the line-up of industry speakers. These seminars were made possible thanks to the collaboration of Gelato Planet, Ramalhos and Grupo Vilbo.

 Forum: training and success stories

Round tables, success stories and trends came together at the InterSICOP Forum, which hosted 10 activities and welcomed more than 300 attendees. This year, the Forum showcased sales strategies, packaging for the patisserie sector, and success stories. It also organised the eagerly awaited meeting of women bakers, as well as round tables on training and the future of the bakery. Other highlights included the sessions by Carlos Moreno (Despelta), who defended ancient flours, and Gastrocook in Castellar de la Frontera (Cádiz), which showed what it means to offer haute patisserie far from the big city.

 Baked products in the CEOPPAN space

The Spanish Confederation of Baking, Pastry-making and Related Products (CEOPPAN), had its own space within InterSICOP where it carried out some interesting activities related to bread-making. A series of demonstrations were held, with great success in attendance levels, such as the one given by the Baking School Barcelona Sabadell, provided by Yohan Ferrant, David Hernández and Roger Vilardosa, who replicated the preparations they presented at the last Mondial du Pain awards. Other highlights included a tasting of artisan biscuits and cookies, headed by Carlos Mariel, Jesús Machi and Paco Hidalgo from Club Richemont Spain, and a demonstration of Portuguese products from Club Richemont Portugal.

 A lot of talent in the championships

InterSICOP 2024, as is customary, was the setting for ambitious national championships.

The MMAHE (Best Master Artisan Ice Cream Maker of Spain), the updated version of the Spanish Ice Cream Championship, was declared void. This year, it was presented as a proficiency test with no winner. The requirement for this title of excellence is to achieve at least 80% of the total points at stake.

Alexis García was the only MMAPE aspirant to reach the required mark and achieve the coveted title of Best Master Artisan Pastry Chef of Spain. The chef presented an original gastronomic dialogue between Africa and the Canary Islands.

Diego Marín, at the helm of Pandemonium in Vigo, convinced the judges at the fifth edition of the National Artisan Bakery Championship with his creation that paid homage to the Canary Islands.

Claudia Herranz from vocational training institute María de Zayas y Sotomayor in Majadahonda (Madrid), was proclaimed winner of the fourth edition of the National Student Pastry Championship, organised by CEEAP. It was an event that stood out for the high level of all the participants.

InterSICOP also hosted this year, for the first time, the seventh edition of the Best Torrijas of Madrid competition, promoted by the Association of Pastry Artisan Entrepreneurs of the Community of Madrid (ASEMPAS-Pasteleros de Madrid). The winners in the different categories were: La Oriental (gluten-free), Cercadillo (innovative) and Formentor (traditional).

 IFEMA ON SOCIAL MEDIA

InterSICOP 2024 also had a large following on social media, where it has a community of more than 13,000 followers, where real-time content from the presentations and championships was shared, as well as interviews and highlights of the day, reaching more than 753,000 impressions.

 CofeeFest, a great addition to the event

InterSICOP 2024 , for the first time ever, coincided with CoffeeFest, the largest event for coffee lovers and professionals, which ran simultaneously in Hall 14 of IFEMA MADRID. For four days, the event included a whole host of presentations, workshops, coffee tours of the city and tasting areas, among other activities.

Further information: www.ifema.es/intersicop