A quieter show than last year but with more high-powered visitor participation: this was the general consensus of last month's Total Sandwich Show which once again took place at London's Olympia. There were nearly 40 first-time exhibitors among the 150-plus stands. Bruce Whitehall picks out equipment and consumable products of interest
Pads cut the grease
Grill pads introduced by Sirane are made in two sizes - 350 x 200mm and 250 x 200 mm - and consist of aluminium sheets bonded to absorbent paper.
When placed in a grill pan, the pads enable sausage, bacon, steaks, burgers, etc, to be cooked with minimal grease either in the pan or on the food. Slits cut louvre-fashion in the aluminium enable the single-use pads to absorb fat.
Food cooks on both sides simultaneously so there is no need to turn. Pads are priced from £28 for a pack of 100 on orders of 1-10 packs.
Sirane also has a microwaveable pad with a special plasticised material instead of aluminium.
These also offer the benefit of keeping the equipment clean while the front glass of the oven does not get fogged.
www.sirane.co.uk
Sirane
Multi-format label printing
The Avery Berkel M650 label printer offers a flexible range of formats for producing labels which can contain logos, graphics, product descriptions, prices, use-by dates, bar codes and full ingredient listings. Short or long form nutritional information can also be entered and stored with operator prompts giving pre-programmed RDAs (recommended daily allowances). Details for each variety can be recalled with a single keystroke and and printed in any number required from singles to thousands.
Also new from Avery Berkel was a range of gravity feed manual slicers for improved presentation and yield on cured and cooked meats, sausages, salamis, etc.
A built-in knife sharpener is fitted for minimal downtime .
www.averyberkel.com
Avery Berkel
Getting at the grub
Colpac's new HS32 carton board sandwich packaging system provides a tamper-proof and leakage-free carton with the new Concorra opening system claimed to ensure easier, more consistent opening than "easy peel" versions. The compact machine is claimed to be easy to operate, allowing sandwiches to be packed two at a time at up to 500 packs per hour. Packs permit up to three days shelf life when refrigerated.
www.colpac.co.uk
Colpac
Rapid seal
The Caterpak L bench-mounted sealing machine from Adpak provides a large (300 x 300mm) area for enclosing sandwiches, food products, plated meals, morning goods and baked products totally inside PVC or polypropylene film bags for optimum presentation and protection. An adjustable stainless steel tray accommodates different height of packs and the machine can operate at rates of up to 10 packs per minute.
Adpak Machinery Systems
Hard cheese choices
Wraps, bagels and wedges featuring speciality hard cheeses such as Somerset Gold, Applewood smoked cheese, Mexicana (mature cheddar with jalapeno chillis) and Cantabella (incorporating black olives, sun-dried tomatoes and basil) were shown by the Ilchester Cheese Company. The recent appointment of a foodservice sales manager (Kevin Findlay) signals the company's growing identification of the "on the move" catering trend.
Ilchester Cheese Company
A fuller fill
A "totally redeveloped" range of sandwich fillings and ingredients from Friday's is being offered in two distinct product lines: Essentials aimed at larger sandwich retailers wanting multiple order discounts on high volume lines and Oasters targeting independent sandwich bars and craft bakers wanting the widest possible choice. The latter range features over 50 prepared fillings, plus salads, dips and ingredients. Products are available in 1 kg packs.
www.fridays.co.uk
Fridays
Sauces to savour
A range of new sandwich fillings based on Uncle Ben's and Dolmio brand culinary sauces was introduced by MasterFoodServices. The products enable Italian, Indian, Far Eastern and Tex-Mex flavours to be added simply to sandwich fillings following mixing with mayonnaise, yoghurt, creme fraiche, chutneys and other ingredients to provide flavour and a binding consistency.
MasterfoodServices
No-meat fish dish
A new range of "fish-style" non-meat sandwich fillings appeared from the Redwood Wholefood Company including vegetarian-suited "tuna" and "smoked salmon" pate. The company also demonstrated the sandwich-making potential of its sliced Cheatin' Meats imitating bacon, ham, chicken, turkey, garlic sausage and pepperoni plus spreadable continental-style pates and meat-free cooked sausages. All products are made from soya and wheat protein and suit lactose-intolerant customers and others with special dietary needs.
www.redwoodfoods.co.uk
The Redwood Wholefood Company
Prepared for pastry
A bake-off franchise package demonstrated by Fornetti (UK) provides snack outlets with Vision oven-plus-prover cabinets. Free loan of the ovens is conditional on regular supply of Fornetti bite-size frozen pastries for baking at the point of sale.
Products cover nine varieties including savoury(cheesy, pizza cream) and sweet (cherry, apple and apricot). Ovens have a footprint of less than one square metre and pre-programmed digital controls.
There is no franchise fee; users pay a returnable deposit of £1450 (until July 1) on the equipment, which remains Fornetti's property. Pastry products are delivered free of charge once-a-week in 3.5kg bags.
www.fornetti.co.uk
Fornetti (UK)
Colour explosion
Cool Green and Really Red 100 per cent hundred per cent fruit juice mixes from Dan International (UK) are enriched with vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants with no added sugar preservatives, artificial flavourings or additives. Cool Green combines apple, pineapple and lime juice mixed with mango, banana and exotic citrus umbu puree while Really Red has apple, beetroot, grape and passion fruit juice with guava and cocoa puree. Both products come in 330ml bottles at a RRP of £0.99-1.19.
www.daninternational.co.uk
Dan International (UK)
German quality
Sandwich filling products on the German Food stand included chilled hams and salamis from Reinert and Windau while specialist sausages and snacks from Wolf included Nuremberg sausages and Bavarian sausage loops. Drink and Food Services also showed a wide choice of fillings ranging over turkey, sausages and chicken to pickles.
CMA
Blenders sport wider options
Robot Coupe has launched modified versions of its compact stick blenders CMP250 Combi and CMP300 Combi. Both come with a standard mixer attachment and an additional 220mm whisk attachment for making pancake batter, mousse, butter sauces, whipped cream, etc. The whisk is equipped with a metallic gearbox with plastic body which is said to be more suited to heavy mixes such as pancake batter. Both models have a built-in variable speed with reduced spillage and splashes when set at low speed.
www.robotcoupe.co.uk
Robot Coupe
Grape drinks for grown ups
Shloer launched its "grown-up soft drink" in new 250ml slim cans with two variants initially available: White Grape and Red Grape sparkling natural fruit juice drinks. Products are also being packed in single serve 275ml glass bottles for the on-trade and restaurants
www.shloer.com
Shloer
Brighter packs
Four bright new colour ways and two new new shapes feature in the Express sandwich packing range from Planglow Label Systems. Features available include overprint software offering legible fonts and colour banding to guide customers to their favourite choices eg green for vegetarian, red for meat, blue for fish and orange for chicken. An extra large title band further aids purchase. Labels come in high gloss sheets for laser printers with a choice of eight and four per sheet and similar colour choices to the banding.
www.planglow.com
Planglow Label Systems
The virtue of thickness
Innocent drinks has made two additions to its growing range of "thickie" drinks: Yoghurt, Mango and Coconut Thickie and Yoghurt, Boysenberries and Wild Blueberries Thickie. Each drinks mixes fresh pro-biotic yoghurt, real fruit, honey and spices with a coconut milk which is free of any artificial gums and stabilisers. Products sell at £1.69-1.99 for 250ml bottles.
www.innocentdrinks.co.uk
Innocent
Black, hinged wedgie pack
Tri-Star used the show to launch its first ever UK-made black-based hinged sandwich wedge packs. Designed to increase product appeal, especially when highlighting premium lines and new fillings, the new packs have an easy-open hinged clear cover for added-value merchandising.
Tri-Star
Portion slicer
The 613 Multislicer shown by Grote is rated capable of bulk slicing, stacking and shingling meats, cheeses, breads, fruit and vegetable into portions at speeds of up to 60-90 strokes per minute. The machine uses patented Accuband cutting for optimal slice quality and product yield, with a 1/2 inch wide razor-sharp bandplate running continuously between two pulleys.
www.grotecompany.com
Grote Company
Fruit and veg drinks
Claimed to be Jamaica's best selling range of juice-based drinks, Tropical Rhythms fruit and vegetable drinks were launched at the show by Grace Kennedy (UK). The range includes such exotic concoctions as Mango Carrot, Pineapple Ginger, Guava Carrot and Passion Carrot, each with a minimum 25 per cent fruit juice content. Products come in 475ml glass bottles with a 250ml Tetra Pack scheduled for launch shortly along with new flavour Sorrell Ginger.
www.gracefoods.com
Grace Kennedy (UK)
Bespoke coolers
An alternative to refrigeration has been developed by Navigate with its bespoke bottle coolers, which enable consumers to keep their drinks cool while on the move. Provided with a shoulder strap, the coolers are light and cleanable and can be printed with any kind of branding.
Similar reusable insulated carriers are available for keeping sandwiches fresh and cool plus various travel mugs produced in conjunction with Thermos.
www.navigate.ltd.uk
Navigate