ICAM inaugurates CHOCO CUBE - Culture, Competence and Creativity

Last Friday at our headquarters in Orsenigo (Como) we kicked off our high-level training project, CHOCO CUBE – Culture, Competence and Creativity. A sharing space in which we will put all our expertise and know-how at the service of pastry chefs, chocolatiers, ice cream makers and professionals in the sector, to support growth through the exchange of knowledge, while strengthening the culture of chocolate, to define trends for the future.

For over 70 years ICAM has been a point of reference for those working in the pastry industry, thanks to semi-finished products that are chosen every day as a basis for the processing of desserts and ice creams, from the most elaborate to the simplest ones. The products of the Linea Professionale and of the Agostoni premium brand, added in 2018 to offer an ever increasing quality, are the main allies of chocolatiers, ice-cream makers and confectioners of the national and international scene to obtain excellent quality results.

It is from this years of experience and the opportunity to offer a 360° service to the operators of the sector that is born CHOCO CUBE. A real classroom in which ICAM technicians, along with internationally renowned pastry chefs and ice cream makers, will periodically hold practical and theoretical sessions on interesting and always different themes.

CHOCO CUBE, the ICAM’s cube of excellence in chocolate, is born with the aim of training starting from the three C – Culture, Competence and Creativity – and will be available to all operators in the sector who will be able to deal with a team of teachers composed of experts that on behalf of Icam, for years put their expertise at the service of national and international customers. The role of educational coordinator will be in fact assigned to Salvatore Toma, expert pastry chef who boasts collaborations with local and foreign companies, since 2016 technical consultant of ICAM. Along with him will alternate to the guide of the courses, Gaetano Mignano, technical consultant Icam and member of the committee of the World Cup of ice cream and Marco Nessi collaborator of ICAM. In addition to the sessions held by internal technicians at Icam, during this first year some masterclasses are already scheduled, which will be held by leading figures in the sector such as Ernst Knam, Mario Di Costanzo, who will tell the future of pastry. The ICAM technical team including international figures such as Irenka Rovanšek and Simon Kobilca from Slovenia and Nikos Tzagarakis from Greece, represents the beginning of a journey that can develop new trends, experiences and a valid support to all Italian and non-Italian customers.

One of the first events will be a Masterclass held by Gianluca Aresu, maître chocolatier and patissier of international level, specialized in the production of artistic chocolate on hollow bodies, scheduled for March 19, on the occasion of Easter. To this will be added courses and workshops on creative pralines, on the realization of cakes according to the latest industry trends, focus on sweets typical of the Christmas period, but also tasting experience to deepen the techniques of perception of different flavours.

On the occasion of its inauguration, CHOCO CUBE was also able to take advantage of the presence of an exceptional guest, Ernst Knam. Testimonial since 2016 of Agostoni and ICAM Linea Professionale, Knam attended the event giving the audience of greedy guests one of his wonderful creations. A black square cake, made with Breton cocoa sablé, creamy single origin chocolate Uganda 78% Agostoni, cocoa marquise ICAM soaked in cherry sauce. A cake, completely covered with a glossy red icing with the inscription CHOCO CUBE in the centre, made with 39% Gran Crù Pachiza milk chocolate and 39% bio Agostoni white, and on the top the inevitable cube, symbol of the new project, accompanied by the words Culture, Competence and Creativity placed on the sides, made with white Edelweiss ICAM Linea Professionale chocolate and decorated with 24K gold leaf.

Knam’s skill and creative flair will also be the protagonists of some masterclasses already scheduled for the 2019 summer and autumn seasons, focused on the pursuit of the most unusual and original ingredients used to enhance the best aromatic features of the finest chocolates.

“The CHOCO CUBE project is the result of the passion for chocolate, which is an essential part of the company’s DNA and is literally handed down from generation to generation by the Agostoni family, – says Giovanni Agostoni, Sales Director of ICAM Spa – Choco Cube is a very important step for us, which will further help us to position ourselves as a point of reference for professionals in the confectionery sector, not only for our products but also as experts in the processing of raw materials at 360 °. The birth of CHOCO CUBE is a project of ICAM but has seen in these months of preparation, and will see more and more in the classroom, the use of many equipment and systems made available by our partners. With them we share, not only the sector in which we operate, but also the importance of knowing how to preserve craftsmanship, the passion for what we do, the ability to innovate while remaining tied to its origins and the fundamental Made in Italy value.”

Here are some of the enthusiastic partners that we will never stop to thank and that have made possible the realization of the CHOCO CUBE project:

Fruilinox – manufacturing company that designs, manufactures and assists a range of professional equipment for storage and refrigeration

Selmi – leader in the production of machines for processing homemade chocolate and for roasting coffee and dried fruit and cocoa

Martellato – equipment, accessories and tools for pastry and ice cream

Pavoni – molds and professional equipment for the white art, pastry and professional ice cream market and the HO.RE.CA.

Cove – food coloring for professionals, liposoluble, water-soluble, in paste and pearly for decorating cakes in sugar paste and plastic chocolate.

Novacart – world leader in the production of paper products for cooking and food presentation

Babbi – BABBI Confectionery Company dedicated to the production of cones, waffles is semifinished for master ice-cream makers.

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