Sourdough expert Jan Willem Groen, product manager, Sapore Sourdoughs, for Puratos, will give a presentation on the company’s world-famous Sourdough Library followed by a lively interview with Karen Bornarth, Executive Director of the Bread Bakers Guild of America. Jan Willem is part of Puratos’ global sourdough team, based in Belgium. Jan Willem serves as the global product manager for Puratos’ Sapore sourdough brand and is often found at the Library, where 138 sourdoughs are preserved for future generations. This non-profit initiative allows bakers to store a backup of their own sourdough, protecting their unique cultures.

Karen Bornarth is executive director of the Bread Bakers Guild of America, a nonprofit membership association dedicated to supporting the sustainable growth of the artisan baking industry through education, training and community. A leader at Hot Bread Kitchen, Karen launched her career at Amy’s Bread as an overnight production baker, taught bread baking at the French Culinary Institute, and developed products and processes for Le Pain Quotidien. Don’t miss this lively, informed conversation!

Bringing the magic of sourdough to the stage – Puratos’ Tony Amaro, Technical Advisor, and Michael Ranaudo, Technical Supporting Sales, will show you how to incorporate Puratos’ newest Whole Wheat Sourdough (Sapore Leo) into a delicious whole grain bread. You will also learn other ways Puratos incorporates their passion for sourdough into their portfolio to bring differentiation, health, taste and freshness to the Canadian baking Industry.

Tony Amaro, Technical Advisor to Puratos Canada, has extensive experience in artisan baking and industrial and retail supermarket segments. Tony’s professional experience in the baking industry spans nearly 40 years and he has been associated with Puratos for more than 10 years. He began in Sundre, Alta., at IGA as an apprentice baker, then moved to Safeway, and later Sobeys, where he worked for eight years. Tony also owned and operated an artisan bakery for 17 years.

A graduate of the food technology program at Niagara College, Michael Ranaudo joined Puratos Canada in 2019 as part of the technical team, supporting sales in developing unique products to delight customers. He previously completed an internship at the Center for Bread Flavour in May 2018. Based in Saint Vith, Belgium, the centre combines Puratos’ expertise in fermentation, flavour and bread pairings to show how flavour can influence the taste and texture of bread.

Sylvestre Awono, global business development manager of Cacao-Trace for Puratos, will deliver a presentation on Cacao-Trace and lead a tasting of the chocolate so bakers can understand and experience the characteristics described in the presentation. Sylvestre Awono is a Cacao-Trace expert and spokesperson, two roles he combines as global business development manager of Cacao-Trace, the Puratos sustainability program that creates and shares value among chocolate chain stakeholders, and especially cocoa farmers, to improve their living conditions. Sylvestre worked in cocoa plantations in Cameroon from an early age. He has a masters degree in food technology engineering, a post-graduate degree in entrepreneurship management and a masters in management from University of Liège in Belgium, where he launched his career as associate researcher. During his 17-plus years with Puratos, he has successively led R&D of fermentation, product management and business development of bakery products. Get ready to be inspired!