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 by
Jacqueline Monahan
jaxn8r@msn.com
Photos by Judy Thorburn
2007
American
Bakery Retail/Frozen Desserts Expo
The Las Vegas Convention Center was host to The American Bakery Retail
and Frozen Desserts Expo on September 9, 10, and 11. You could easily
access both of these events by walking toward the Central Hall of the
convention center.
Since conventions are held for professionals in the field, they offer an
unusual glimpse of trade secrets for the average consumer. In both of
these expositions, the end products were the tempting baked and frozen
treats that were made possible by the real stars; the machines and tools
(silicone cookie sheets, baking pans, gelato display cases, etc.) that
vendors use to produce and present their edible offerings to the general
public.
 For
someone who is calorie conscious, the colorful booths with their
alluring, often dessert-like fare are like vast minefields of
temptation. Gelato dominated the Frozen Desserts Expo, followed by
sorbetto, ice cream, frozen yogurt and slush drinks. Like mountains of
multi-colored glaciers under glass, the flavors of these confections
(free samples galore!) make life even more difficult with scores of
possibilities. Do I want the Amaretto, the coconut, the cantaloupe,
double chocolate, grapefruit or raspberry? Do I want them all? Do I want
to fit through the huge hallways when all is said and done, or require
the use of a shoehorn to leave the room?
Here’s a crash course on ingredients: Ice cream and some frozen yogurt
is cream-based; gelato is milk-based; sorbetto and slushes are
water-based. The least caloric of these are the water-based, but there
are non-dairy versions as well, like Yolatto. Do not assume that
fat-free means calorie free, ever. Read every ingredient panel that you
can get your hands on before putting that spoon in your mouth. Of
course, if calories are no object, load up on full-fat ice cream and
double cream frozen yogurt to your heart’s content (your cardiologist
may disagree).
 Some
standout purveyors of gelato and gelato-related equipment are Dolcefine,
World of Gelato, and the innovative yogurt-based gelato company, Yolato.
The predominant country of origin at the Frozen Desserts Expo was Italy.
No country exports a better product, with the quality improving it seems
the more difficult the name becomes to pronounce.
 Over
at the American Bakery Retail Expo, grains ruled the day. Samples were
everywhere in cake, cookie, bread and pastry form. Almonds and raisins
glared at me from one booth, a full sized wedding cake with a leaf motif
from another. Want a poppy seed Napoleon chased by a huge hunk of banana
bread? How about popping some truffles followed by a mouthful of cookie
dough? For me the question was how about wiring MY jaws shut so I can
maneuver through this space without looking like Jaws?
Diet denial was evident in booths like Flavor Right Foods, Rain Creek
Baking Company (specializing in Middle Eastern pastries, Allah help me)
and The Knock Shoppe with its wedding cake stands and accessories. Don’t
think they left out a cake either – it was there in all of its sugary
fondant glory, beautifully decorated and deceptively harmless.
 Did
I mention that I’m a low-carb devotee? This experience was a dilemma,
full of desire, but full of boring nutritional knowledge to combat it. I
did not succumb, but left in a grumpy mood, mumbling about deprivation
as I walked past glazed donuts and poppy-seed Napoleons. Loaves of bread
did their best to lure me into their enriched flour snare. Cake slices
looked like tongues sticking out, mocking me for my resolve.
 Zumex
USA provided some relief with their product – juice squeezed from actual
oranges in front of your eyes. Their transparent juicing systems let you
see how your juice is prepared from unpeeled fruit before it goes
through its transformation (peeled, squeezed, strained) in a matter of
seconds before a few ounces hits a waiting cup which is whisked into
your hand in less time than it takes to select a gelato flavor
elsewhere. That, I grabbed and inhaled, grateful to have some type of
healthy alternative to cling to.
 Gelato
Market offered a strawberry flavored sugar-free slush, which I almost
dropped to my knees in disbelief at discovering. It was excellent, a
doubly amazing feat. My faith was somewhat restored as I approached the
large Caravan Products area. These folks, who offer one-stop shopping to
merchants in need of baking supplies and ingredients, were also giving
out non-edible freebies. I picked up a pair of faux Ray-Bans (you can’t
tell) and a pen that’s cleverly disguised as a baguette – useful things
that won’t make me fat.
 Another
booth, The Greeting Place, featured scented pens and all types of
original greeting cards bearing vintage pictures of men and women, all
with wry messages about aging, looks and life observations. I couldn’t
eat anything here, but the coffee-scented pen brought up some edible
memories so I fled.
 Unfortunately,
I escaped into the clutches of Carmi Flavors, a diabolical booth with a
treacherous machine capable of extruding (pushing out in a ribbon-like
shape) not only soft-serve ice cream, but ribbons of at least ten
different flavors mingled throughout. I gave in to pineapple and black
raspberry like a weakling. This machine is also capable of mix-ins, like
rainbow sprinkles, Oreos, almonds, chocolate pieces, and other divine,
yet hellish confections. I quickly told myself that extrusions create
unwanted protrusions and stepped away with a mouthful of brain freeze.
The lesson here seems to be that with Cane (sugar) one is Able to do
most anything in the world of baking and dessert. And you get to meet
the sweetest people, all in a day’s work.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.Caravanproducts.com
http://www.Carmiflavors.com
http://www.Dolcefine.com
http://www.Flavorright.com
http://www.Gelatomarket.com
http://www.Raincreekbaking.com
http://www.Thegreetingplace.com
http://www.Theknockshoppe.com
http://www.Worldofgelato.com
http://www.Yolato.com
http://www.Zumexusa.com
Petula
Clark and Sammy Shore Fill The Club at The Cannery
Agelessly beautiful 60’s icon and Grammy-Award winner Petula Clark took
the stage in the indoor/outdoor courtyard of the Cannery for a free show
on Saturday, September 15th. Local radio station KJUL sponsored the
event as a Listener Appreciation Concert, and it drew the largest crowd
ever assembled for an event in the history of the place.
Although doors opened at 6:00 PM, the show did not officially start
until 7:30. The first hour was spent by audience members visiting
various booths and registering for prizes such as a three-day Mexican
cruise, a new set of tires, an oil change and filter, a 20” TV, a DVD
player, two wills prepared by a law office, a one-hour landscaping
consultation, a $100 certificate in outreach education from UNLV, and a
KJUL gift basket. Winners were announced between 7:00 and 7:30.
The crowd, largely made up of senior citizens (Petula herself turns an
astonishing 75 years old on November 15) walked and rolled into the
venue aided by canes, walkers, scooters and oxygen tanks. The youngest
and rarest audience component seemed to be made up of forty-and-fifty-somethings,
youngsters in the 60’s when Clark had her heyday.
Opening for Clark was legendary comedian and sentimental favorite Sammy
Shore. With his decades of Vegas roots and nostalgia, the long-haired
comic took the stage in a black and white Union Jack t-shirt and what
appeared to be black parachute pants. Known as “the man who made Elvis
laugh,” Shore poked fun at the trials of aging, (“I pee in Morse code!”)
and spoke of opening for such iconic talent as Elvis Presley, Barbra
Streisand and Tony Bennett. Noticing the median age of the crowd, the
comic quipped, “I’ve seen younger faces on cash!” Shore finished with an
endearing ballad entitled When I’m Young Again and threw a sweet “I love
you” at the audience before departing.
Sammy Shore
Photo by Stephen Thorburn
You heard a few bars of the song Who Am I? in Clark’s remarkably strong
and familiar voice before you actually saw her. Sweeping onto the stage
in full-length black skirt, belted, sheer black top, long sleeves that
ended in half-gloves (fingers uncovered), and topped by a long black
sequined duster, later replaced by a black mid-length jacket, Clark wore
a vertical orange sash down her left side. This would be dramatically
dropped to the floor as she performed an original poem about the theater
midway through the show. A disco ball shot prisms of light throughout
the audience, as if acknowledging the star that had just joined but
instantly outshined them (the lights, not the audience; they were their
own power source upon whose energy Clark was happy to feed).
Her blond, wavy hair was held in place by a single crystal barrette
which she removed after her sixth song, shaking her head and appearing
even more youthful with the fluffier variation. Performing for a crowd
seems to put Clark in a considerable comfort zone, one that the audience
perceives and appreciates.
Petula Clark
Photo by Stephen Thorburn
Clark’s claim to fame songs such as Don’t Sleep in the Subway, Downtown,
I know a Place, Color My World, Kiss Me Goodbye, and My Love Is
(released in German, French and Italian versions as well as English)
were peppered throughout the evening, punctuated by surprising covers (I
Wanna Hold Your Hand, The Twelfth Of Never) Broadway tunes from Sondheim
and Lloyd Webber, (I Think About You and With One Look), respectively,
and the show-stopping Tell Me It’s Not True, (from the play Blood
Brothers) about a mother’s grief over losing her two sons. She also
introduced the Finnian’s Rainbow song (Look To The Rainbow) with stories
of working with Fred Astaire and Francis Ford Coppola.
Her nine-piece band was composed of drums, two keyboards, two guitars,
one saxophone, two trumpets and a piano that Clark occasionally used to
accompany herself. She changed into an ostrich-feather accented satin
mauve and black duster for With One Look, and a similarly colored short
cloth coat for Tell Me It’s Not True. The stage background was made up
of thousands of twinkling stars upon a black background and offset the
largest star, the one with the famous mole on the right side of her
chin, to great advantage.
Petula Clark
Photo by Stephen Thorburn
Other compositions included one by Charlie Chaplin (Love, Here Is My
Song), some by Clark herself, (Losing My Heart To Memphis, I’ll Be Here
For You.) She doesn’t like to say goodbye, so the latter song is her
official farewell. She did take the stage again after a standing ovation
to perform one last hit, I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love, urging the
audience to sing along once more, as they did for the chorus of
Downtown. She moved around the stage and even executed dance moves to
some of the songs. When she exited for the last time, the audience was
still on its feet, reluctant to give up that feeling of being
transported back in time, their memories of youth as bright as the
spotlight she had just stepped away from.
Beginning her entertainment career as a film star at the age of 12
(she’s appeared in over 30, most notably Finnian’s Rainbow and Goodbye
Mr. Chips) Clark recorded her first album in 1956 and has never stopped
the music. Appearing on Ed Sullivan and too many British and American
variety shows to count, she’s played Norma Desmond in the stage
production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard, Maria in The Sound
of Music, and the tragic Mrs. Johnston in Blood Brothers. She’s a
Renaissance woman who is taking another millennium by storm.
Long may she sing.
For more information about upcoming entertainment at The Cannery, please
visit:
http://www.cannerycasinos.com
The Cannery Casino & Hotel
2121 E. Craig Road
North Las Vegas, NV 89030
(702) 507-5700
(866) 999-4899
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