Article about ApEx in the Times and Transcript of Moncton

A great article by Brent Mazerolle was published in the Times and Transcript newspaper on April 1. See the original article at http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/newstoday/article/1394527

Foodservice and hospitality tradeshow starts on Sunday

ApEx will feature panel discussions, top chefs doing demonstrations

It's anyone's guess how long a thermometer would have to be to go all the way down to -400 degrees Celsius (-688 Fahrenheit) and measure this, but that's the temperature liquid nitrogen lives at.

And don't try this at home, kids, but that's the temperature Chef Pierre Richard has been cooking at these days.

True, most of the deliciousness he's whipping up at Little Louis' Fine Cuisine is still getting cooked in convection ovens and over good old-fashioned flames, but with consumers looking for new ideas, flavours and textures in our foodie era, Pierre is constantly experimenting, looking for new ideas and trends and doing his own thinking outside the bread box.

Yesterday that translated to creamy, cold, colourful quenelles of nitro-frozen beet parfait covered with pink peppercorns and pickled shallots.

On top of that came just a teensy bit of grated smoked Atlantic salmon, the grating possible because the salmon filet had also just taken its last swim in a bit of nitrogen.

Add a few droplets of beet juice that have been swirled into tiny perfect spheres through a special technique involving agar agar that leaves them looking like pretty red caviar, and then sprinkle a half-dozen radish shoots on top so fresh they were picked as the waiter was getting ready to head to the table, and you had a delicious amuse-bouche.

You also had the sort of recipe that captures many of the themes of this weekend's ApEx, Atlantic Canada's largest foodservice and hospitality industry trade show which takes place at the Coliseum Agrena.

The show's not open to the general public, but it is open to those in the food industry, and that's a whole lot of people.

There are 73,000 people directly employed in the foodservice and hospitality industry in Atlantic Canada, and in New Brunswick more people work in the industry than in the fishing, farming and forestry sectors combined, says Luc Erjavec of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association.

It's no surprise, then, that Premier David Alward and several of his cabinet ministers will be dropping by the show on Monday - the employment food service provides is a big part of our economy, worth $3.8 billion in Atlantic Canada last year. It's also no surprise that such a vast industry can be competitive, which is why the ApEx show's more than 200 exhibitors will be unveiling the latest in equipment, products, foods, and ideas to help restaurateurs bring quality to their tables and quantity to their revenues.

Many of Pierre's ingredients are local, including several varieties of sprouts from Moncton's Vital Source.

Locally sourced food is one of the things that will be featured at this year's show, says Luc.

"Normally, a small farmer can't supply a large supermarket chain, but he can supply 10 restaurants."

Pierre's recipe is also innovative and on the cutting edge of the latest trends in cuisine, something else the show will be focussing on.

The organizers have greatly expanded the educational component of their show, bringing in six of Atlantic Canada's top chefs to do demonstrations, and a number of highly successful food service entrepreneurs will take part in a panel discussion sharing their secrets of success.

The show runs Sunday and Monday, April 3-4 (Food service people are way too busy on Fridays and Saturdays).

For more information about the show, check www.apextradeshow.com