how much knowledge can one room hold?

Pretty cool! I spent the afternoon with the Ambassaduers du Pain, here in Germany. We had an afternoon meeting with some of the biggest players in the French baking industry. Hubert Chiron, Pierre Nury, Patrice Ferrand, Dominique Planchot, Thiery Meunier, Bruno Cormerais & more. A bakers "Woodstock". Just think of the knowledge in that room! It's a wonder it didn't catch fire. There were four of us from the states. Myself, my son Guy, Peter Yuen & Mitch Stamm. No English spoken, only French. Hubert Chiron spoke for ninety minutes about enzymes and dough conditioners. Talked about how they work and the negative effects. Mme. Raemy Esther from "Haute ecole des sciences appliquees de Zurich" spoke for another ninety minutes about bread aromas and flavours and how they are percieved by consumers. Again, all in French. Had tougher time with that. I thought about it on my way from the meeting, "Why did they choose those topics"? Easy answer, ANYONE IN THAT ROOM KNOWS HOW TO BAKE! No point explaining liquid versus stiff levain. The most impressive part, I heard it over and over. The group is built on those who are passionate about the bakery trade and asa member, you must be willing to share.

It's late, I'm not sure what day it is, I've had it.

Good night.

Tomorrow, it's off to the convention.