Experiencing the SoFlo Bake & Candy Expo - Bakers, Vendors and Community 

Turquoise sandy beaches, luxurious hotels, a vibrant nightlife, and for three busy days America’s sugar-land. Yes, Miami just hosted SoFlo Bake and Candy Expo which is described as “South Florida’s largest and most interactive Cake and Candy Expo.”

This event, that was hosted by Sweet Life Cake and Candy Supply Store, took place in Miami Airport Convention Center, a large venue that from April 28th to the 30th did not seem to hold enough space for the avalanche of cake and candy enthusiast that descended on the place.The expo visitor is given the unique opportunity to experience the micro-cosmos of some of the best cake and sweets artistry. 

Here, vendors and suppliers showcase their products and creations which by all measures demonstrate that the Sweets, Cake and Bake trade evolves continuously pushing the boundaries of what is possible to do with icing, fondant, colors, candy, and chocolate.

So, let me take you down to the scene in the following paragraphs to the tune of your favorite relaxing cocktail just like we visitors were greeted by the event organizers with complementary drinks prepared by bartenders accosted along the venue entrance. (Our choice: Cuban Mojitos.)

COLORS

If you stroll down the isles of booths, you get the impression of a busy marketplace but far from the mundane of commercial enterprises you are immediately overwhelmed by the variety and shear beauty of colors. A major ingredient in cake and sweets creations, natural food coloring had a big presence in the event. Neatly packaged in different size plastic jars, there were hundreds of colors only a renaissance Italian master could dream of. Incredibly, all that variety of colors for a masterpiece that is never going end up in some art gallery or museum but instead purposely integrated to the creation to appeal to that sweet tooth we all have in greater or lesser degree.Texture was also a commodity for colors could come in the form of edible glitters or sparkles and in the shape of dust or flakes.

CUTTERS, VEINERS, AND MOLDS

This industry still traces its roots back to the origins of the craftsmanship and baker’s guilds in the middle-ages. Artisan work is still what this is all about. To adorn their creations and bringing them to life, bakers and cake chefs rely on a variety of tools including cutters, veiners, and molds. The producers of these decor and design enhancers had also a large presence in the convention all sporting their unique trademark designs. It was amazing to see how many different types of shapes and decorations are possible. Also, if you are one of those people that love chocolate, there certainly were vendors and artisans catering to your interest with several selections of coatings and edible decorations made out of your favorite white, milk, or dark chocolate.

IT’S ABOUT A LOT MORE THAN SUGAR

The event was much more than the chefs, vendors, and suppliers that make up the ecosystem of this industry trying to sell you their products. You get the feeling of a community of people that share a common passion and like to showcase their individual contributions to the Cake and Candy industry. One example of this was the inevitable merge with social media which even included a booth broadcasting interviews with some of chefs and vendors present at the event through an internet channel about none other than baking. Finally, highlighting the expo was a cake competition with the most amazing creations. The theme you can guess: the sea, South Florida, its animals and plants. No boundaries to the imagination for many of the cake designs even included mythical mermaids.