externs

This is Ross, one of the high school extern students who graced our bakery this year. Hi Ross:) (waving of hand)
He was a lot of fun to have around and always managed to brighten our day.

Anyhow, we have students year round, mostly from the culinary schools in the area but also from a number of high schools. The high school students often job shadow for a day or two but a few, like Ross, have done a "mini" externship with us.

Most of the students, wherever they come from, grasp that baking and cooking aren't the glamorous activities like they see on the telly. Baking on a commercial scale can be fun and exciting however, there are oodles of repetition that aren't shown on the TV programs.
Not every customer that orders wants or needs a 5 tier creation of your "vision"-often, they simply want a half dozen of the chocolate chip or snicker doodle cookies, or maybe a couple slices of the yellow cake.

{Tip for any future bakers and chefs-Consistency is the true hallmark of a quality chef or baker. Anyone can do something well once or twice but to do it 50, 70 times a week and to do it well is not that simple.}

These externships give the students a taste of the "real world" and for most, it seems to be something they enjoy doing. There are always a few who seem to think that they will instantly be the next celebrity or executive chef at the first place they choose to grace with their presence. A few others make you wonder if they've ever heard the words oven or mixer before in their lives and why they seem to think baking would be such an easy thing to pick up "Hello people, we are talking about CHEMISTRY here!" Granted, tasty chemistry but still...

Anyhow, it's always nice to have someone like Ross (high school), Scott (WCI), or Jennifer (Jen) (WCI), who so obviously enjoy and really get what baking is about and that helps keep me enthused and inspired as well.

Now, go forth and BAKE!