Dessert Expo Selects Best Desserts At Small Bite, Big Taste Competition

Las Vegas......As if America's sweet tooth needed more prodding, an exclusive trade show for the desserts industry added some more great tasting desserts, winners of the first ever "Small Bite, Big Taste" Competition, which was held at the 4th Annual Great American Dessert Expo in Las Vegas June 9-11, 2006. The show, held in conjunction with Coffeefest, is the nation's first trade show dedicated exclusively to the huge dessert industry.

The Competition was sponsored by The French Culinary Institute and PastryScoop.com, well known in the culinary world for their dedication to the highest standards of excellence in the industry. The judges of the competition came from various Las Vegas Hotels and Casinos including: Kimberly Bugler, Executive Pastry Chef at J. W. Marriott Las Vegas Resort, Spa & Golf; Mark Gerlach, Pastry Chef de Cuisine at Mesa Grill at Caesars Palace; Andrea Sans, Pastry Sous Chef at Bradley Ogden at Caesars Palace and Judiaann Woo, Editor-in-Chief of PastryScoop.com.

Each winner received an engraved Dessert Plate listing their award along with a prize, a vacation for two. The winner for the Best New Product at the show went to Opera Patisserie for their delicious Mini Macaroons- the texture is light and delicate, with a gentle richness that is surprisingly satisfying. The Best Frozen Dessert went to Howard Gordy for their Pistachio Oro Verde- 100% pure pistachio which is grown in a very rich soil in Sicily. The winner for Best Chocolate went to Niche Import Co. for their Chocolate Santander- the only single origin chocolate produced in Columbia well known for its exquisite and delicate flavor. The Best Confection went to Fudge Fatale for their delicious hand made fudge to live and die for! The judges voted for Ardalin Foods as the Best Pastry for their flourless chocolate cake- low sugar, low fat and lactose free that still tastes amazing! The Best Dessert Wine went to Wine-A-Rita for their Wineglace which is a mix to create a fun and delicious frozen wine beverage. All you need is ice, wine and a blender.

"While Americans are generally committed to eating healthier, they are looking for creative ideas in desserts that offer them the healthfulness and the taste," said Menachem Lubinsky of LUBICOM Marketing Consulting, a New York based strategic marketing company that organized the show. Americans are eating more desserts than ever, but the portions are getting significantly smaller as well as lower in fat and sugar with gluten/wheat free desserts while maintaining high quality taste, noted dessert industry experts Sarah Lee Marks, author of Reservations Required and Antoinette Bruno, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of StarChefs.com, a 10-year old organizer of many events for chefs. Antoinette Bruno also noted the drive to be different when it comes to desserts: "Cutting edge pastry chefs are coming up with desserts that mix savory with sweets and sleeker presentation with Custom Plate ware."

Various companies that demonstrated the healthy and low fat trend were: Michael's Cookies with their gluten-free, wheat-free Macaroon cookie which is the first commercial cookie product that meets the needs of the gluten-free public. Izzy's Best of the Philippines showcased soft-dried fruits and veggies that are great for snacking or baking without the additives and preservatives that ruin the natural flavors. Fat Cat Scones presented no trans fat and no preservative delicious scones. Xocai Chocolates demonstrates how chocolate is healthy and is an answer to today's health problems with their heavenly chocolate beverages and nuggets.

Amongst the nearly 5,000 trade visitors that visited the dessert and coffee shows were many chefs, bakers, and other buyers of desserts. They were focused on booths that served the industry, such as cake decorating supplies by Los Angeles based Parrish's Cake Decorating Supplies as wel