Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with baker

What is being a baker or sous-chef like?

schroedinger — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:17:06 -0800

What has been your experience working as a baker, sous-chef, pastry chef, or on prep staff in a bakery or restaurant? What was the job like? The hours? What skills did you need to know before being hired, and what was OK for you to learn on the job? Did you have any significant professional training before beginning, or was it all self-taught? I have discovered a love of baking and cooking, and am considering going into the field for a couple of years. Is this feasible to do so without culinary school? I've been a life-long baker, though nothing more complicated than basic cakes and cookies. About six months ago, I began working in a cafe where in addition to line preparation (i.e. making sandwiches) I've been doing basic food and baking prep work as well. Nothing fancy, mostly baking cookies and making soup, but I've learned a lot about food and baking in general and it's awoken a passion within me that's lasted quite a bit longer than any of my other interests.

I'm not yet ready to give up my current career path and go to culinary school. I'd like to be able to dabble part-time or full-time in a bakery or restaurant while pursuing my current educational goals. But I don't know if this is even feasible, as I'm not sure of what qualifications I'll need to join a "real" bakery or restaurant in any position above dishwasher, nor what kind of hours, pay, or workload to expect. Can you help?

Help me find a website (non CMS/Blog) program/tool for my wife.

Leenie — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 01:31:15 -0800

My wife and I have a small family farm. While I run a few websites that are hand coded, Wordpress or Joomla based, with galleries and more, she can not handle that. We are trying to find a simple website creation program for her to maintain the farms website.

The one we are testing and it almost what we need is 'Website Baker'. It is a PHP web application that is somewhat WYSIWYG. The big gripe we have is image handling. If we have a large photo from a camera and want to place it on the website, it can not create thumbnails or a browser friendly size. You have to upload the images before you can use them on the page, etc. You can not have images float on the page to the right or left of the page, they have to be within a paragraph break.

We don't need commenting, blogging, ratings, voting or anything like that. We are looking for software that will let her create the website, a professional non crap looking page. I can do the templating, that is not the problem.

The software needs to be able to create a static page for an animal. That page will contain its recent genetics along with a few paragraphs about the animal. Photographs are required on the pages.

If the menu system can support sub pages/categories, that is great.
Example:
Breed 1
Animal 1
Animal 2
Animal 3
Breed 2
Animal 1
Animal 2

Nvu, Frontpage, Dreamweaver, etc. are not an option. Web based apps get bonus points. It will be on a Linux server running Apache web server with MySQL and all of the usual stuff.

Thanks for any, and I mean any, suggestions.

Dietitian vs. Baker

meringue — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 09:12:35 -0800

Career path: Dietitian or Bakery Owner? I'm trying to decide whether or not it's worth it to go back to school and become a dietitian, or if I should concentrate on opening my own bakery.

I currently work as a baker, and have for about seven years. When I graduated from high school, I moved out, and to support myself I worked foodservice jobs while I attempted to go to university. After a couple of years of attending classes on and off, I decided that there was no point in continuing to study. I had been pursuing a BA in Geography with the intent of going on to study Urban Planning at the graduate level, but I felt that there were too many obstacles, no guarantee of a job at the end, and that I would be better off choosing a vocation that would pay me more than minimum wage.

So, I took a course in baking and was able to find better paying work, and while I enjoy baking, I have always been dissatisfied with my jobs. For the first month or so of a new job, it is challenging and interesting, and I think that I've found someplace that I can stay for a while and be happy doing it. Then it all becomes routine, boring, and I start to dread going to work. I always feel that I have to stay for at least a year though, partly because my resume is starting to get a little long, and partly because I feel guilty for leaving - I feel like I would be letting down my boss and my coworkers. I also have a mortgage and bills to pay, so I have to have another job lined up when I leave, and I have become increasingly picky about where I will even apply, let alone accept a job.

I know that it's time for a change, but I am unsure what direction to take. I think that I have it narrowed down to two options - Dietitian or Bakery Owner - but even then I have my doubts, and wonder if I should get away from anything to do with food. I have struggled with disordered eating much of my life, and while I feel that it is under control now, I did go through a serious eating disorder phase, and have also struggled with depression. On the one hand, part of me thinks that by working with food, it has become less of an obsession and that by becoming a dietitian I could help other people with food issues; on the other hand, I sometimes wonder whether any career associated with food is part of an unhealthy obsession.

Leaving aside the above issues, I have specific pros and cons about each career, and about the impact following either path will have on my personal life.

Bakery owner pros: I have experience and training as a baker, enjoy the hands-on nature and creativity, would allow me to be my own boss
Bakery owner cons: the hours can be detrimental to home/family/social life, a large investment of money and time, I would not be able to start it for several years because I would like to have children soon, wherever I start a bakery is the place I would be committing to live for several years.

Although the idea of having my own bakery is appealing for the freedom and control over product I would have, I worry about being tied down to one place. I have always wanted to travel but haven't been able to afford it, as my husband and I were focussed on buying a house and paying off old bills. We also want to have children soon, and that would preclude starting a bakery for several years. However, the idea of working as a baker until any potential children are in preschool is very disheartening.

Dietitian pros: can work for myself (I believe) or for someone else, interesting and challenging, my background both in foodservice & with eating issues could be an asset, I would be helping people and "making a difference", I prefer dealing with people one-on-one rather than working with the public, could take university classes part-time if I had children, professional status
Dietitian cons: many years of schooling, required one-year unpaid internship, salary seems low (as per dietitians.ca), requires me to retake highschool classes.

The schooling required to become a dietitian is one of the biggest things holding me back. Although I took sciences in high school, my marks were poor as I was dealing with depression & an eating disorder. I would have to retake the high school courses, which would add an extra year to my studies. I am also not especially scientifically inclined, although I checked the specific course requirements for the degree and believe that I could do it. Adding school to working part-time and having kids would be tough, but it would also give me a goal to work towards which is something I really crave.

Any advice/information about either career is appreciated, or feel free to tell me not to pursue either, just tell me why.
Thanks!

Should I bake my good friend's wedding cake with little experience in such endeavors?

nataliecay — Thu, 10 May 2007 11:57:19 -0800

As a recreational baker, am I crazy to make my best friend's wedding cake?? I am the designated cake baker for our group of friend's birthdays, celebrations, etc. This year I decided to tackle fondant icing for the first time ever. Well, one of my engaged friends was so impressed with the results she asked me to make her wedding cake.

Things to consider:
*I am a bridesmaid in the wedding, so I'll definitely have my share of responsibilities without tackling this additional one.
*She said she doesn't care what it tastes like, she just wants it to be cute. I can do cute.
*I would be transporting the layers 6 hours away to her hometown.
*I have never made more than a two tiered cake.
*I have a year to practice.

Sooo, thoughts?

Killer's Girlfriend

polexxia — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 19:50:10 -0800

This may sound morbid, but I am trying to locate a photograph of Nicole Baker Barrett, who was Gary Gilmore's girlfriend when he was executed. I have tried Google images, etc.... and still nothing. Anyone got any advice?