The Good Food & Wine Show (GF&WS) show kicks off in Melbourne today, and Sunbeam’s stand at the event looks set to grab the attention of the 30,000 strong crowd due to visit the three-day event. Boasting cupcake decorating and coffee school classes, Sunbeam assistant product manager beverage & toaster products Meagan Curry told www.connectedchefs.com she’s expecting tickets will sell-out, as consumers race to get hands-on with Sunbeam’s CC3200 Cupcake Maker and EM6910 Solo Coffee Machine.

Curry said Sunbeam’s home economist Angela Portella will be on hand at the Cupcake Decorating classes, where 24 attendees will be shown how to prepare cupcake mix and then given pre-made cupcakes to decorate.

“This class will centre around our CC3200 Cupcake Maker, which is able to cook six cupcakes in just 12 minutes. It delivers a better result that an oven, as it ensures the top of the cupcakes are totally smooth and even,” she said.

One attendee in each Cupcake Decorating class will win a Sunbeam Cupcake Maker, worth $49.95, for their cake decorating efforts.

Curry is equally as excited about the Sunbeam Coffee School classes that will run at its GF&WS booth, where qualified baristas and national training manager Greg Davis will show attendees how to prepare the perfect espresso, how to froth milk and decorate the top of a Latte. One lucky person in each class will walk away with a Grindmaster EMO360, based on their Latte art.

“The Sunbeam stand is very interactive, and is set-up in a way that it really draws in big crowds who watch what’s happening in the classes. It’s almost like a fish-bowl,” Curry said.

“It’s great exposure for our brand and products and it’s also great exposure for our trade partners. Is there any better way to drive people into stores asking about products then by getting them hands-on with the appliances at a big even?” she added.

Due to the popularity of its classes, Sunbeam has scheduled extra sessions this year. There will be  three Cupcake Decorating classes today and tomorrow and two on Sunday. Sunbeam will be holding two Coffee School classes today, tomorrow and on Sunday. Tickets for the classes are available for $40 on Ticketek and at the event if not sold out previously.

She’s one of the most recognised women in the culinary world, and now Nigella Lawson is speaking out about the misogyny linked with baking – a cooking art she believes deserves more applause and recognition.

According to the Daily Mail, Lawson said her cookbook, ‘How to Be a Domestic Goddess’ should be read as a “feminist tract” because cooking is still largely seen as a female pastime.

“I think it’s a very important feminist tract in its own right, and I’m not being entirely ironic. Baking is the less applauded of the cooking arts, whereas restaurants are a male province to be celebrated,” Lawson said.

“There’s something intrinsically misogynistic about decrying a tradition because it has always been female,” she added.

Lawson said the cookbook, which was a best-seller in 2000, celebrates the role of women in cooking. She also commented on the raft of reality cooking shows, saying the worst thing to happen to cooking was the rise of Simon Cowell and his sometimes cruel judging style

“Something which so undermines a lot of people when they cook for friends is this terrible feeling that you’re going to be judged The way television is going, with more reality shows, is that there is this false gloss of perfection. My cameraman makes everything look wonderful and the lighting is just perfect, and I’m aware it can give a glamour that doesn’t exist,” she said during the UK’s Hay Festival.

“But reality programs create this environment in which you feel everybody is there to criticise you and send you away. You feel that when you cook it’s going to be given the Simon Cowell treatment,” she added.

A greater number of home cooks are returning to the “Good Life” by cooking their favourite meals from scratch and growing their own fruit and vegetables, as families battle to balance their spending with higher cost of living pressures.

According to the latest IGD ShopperTrack research 42% of UK consumers said they intend to cook more meals from scratch over the next six months, more than double the number of people who said this (19%) in 2008.

28% of consumers said they’ll be growing their own fruit and vegetables in the next half-year, and 29% will make more packed lunches.

IGD chief executive Joanne Denney-Finch said consumers are dealing with added pressure on their spending power in a pragmatic manner and aren’t “taking it lying down.”
“Shoppers are prepared to trade time for cash in order to maintain their quality of food. Some of the popular ways they are doing this include more cooking from scratch and growing their own fruit and vegetables,” she said.

“Food manufacturers and retailers are playing their part in helping shoppers economise. They are giving away free recipe cards to help with meal planning, offering various meal deals, a higher number of promotions and introducing or extending budget ranges to help people manage their finances,” she added.

IGD found younger people and those with children were the most likely to return to the ‘Good Life,’ with 38% of 25 to 34 year olds doing more grow-your-own fruit and vegetables and 56% of consumers aged between 18 and 24 cooking more from scratch.

Those amongst us with a love for all things cooking are also more likely to spend more each week on fruit and vegetables, according to a study compiled by Mealpulse and Veginsights.

Data from the Veginsights quarterly report shows that those who said they love to cook spend an average of $32.08 on fruit and vegetables per week, whereas those who said they don’t enjoy cooking spend an average of $26.96 per week.

AUSVEG spokesman Andrew White said the results were based on docket data and qualitative research, and indicates positive steps are being made in educating consumers about cooking with vegetables.

“When you analyse the results of the report compared to the same time last year, 76% of shoppers are now saying they love to cook, versus 50% who expressed the sentiment at the same time last year. Even taking into account variable factors, this represents a significant upsurge,” White said.

“This is further evidence of the link between consumers who are skilled at or enjoy cooking and the benefit that can be gained as a result of this in terms of vegetables sales. While it is clear that those who love cooking are inherently more likely to buy more vegetables to do so, the link is a significant one nonetheless,” he added.

According to the data, this shift is a result of a change in attitude by shoppers who previously did not love cooking, or who had previously said they held no particular view.

White said further consumer education about how to cook with the wide variety of vegetables available now could lead to a further increase in vegetable purchases.

“We are not talking about just those staple vegetables anymore. More and more, growth in the Asian vegetable market, for example, and other similar markets is increasing,” he said.

“The change in attitude has been far reaching and it has had application to all states, ages and household types. Females (79%) were more likely to want to cook compared to males (63%), as were those over 50 years (78%) compared to under 25s (72%),” he added.