Informed but not quite yet deterred, I rang up another baker, Robyn. She was an accounting and marketing major in college who went on to become a litigation consultant. She did that for five years and then decided at the age of 25 she needed to switch gears.
She, like Mary, had always baked to relax but she didn’t know the technical aspects of baking or the skills. She started researching the career move by walking into restaurants. She literally walked into a good restaurant in San Francisco and convinced the pastry chef there to sit down and talk to her. That pastry chef turned her on to Tante Marie’s, a French cooking school in San Francisco. The school has a six month baking certificate that those who work full-time can take on evenings and weekends. She studied along-side 13 other women and had an amazing instructor with whom she still keeps in touch. Her first day of class she said to herself, “Yep. This is it.”
She had heard her share of horror stories about baking: the lack of money, how hard it was to make a career out of it, etc. But she was undaunted. When she finished the Tante Marie program she did an externship on Friday and Saturdays. At that point she was still making money because she had held onto her other job. Eventually, she married and her husband supported her jump to pursuing pastry full-time. She took a job as a baker.
Like Mary, she recounted the hard hours and lack of vacation. A pastry cook is usually hourly and given no over-time. Once you are a chef, however, you are salaried and then you’re abused, she said. You work 5-6 days a week, 12 to 14 hours a day. The job is both mental and physical and not at all like working 8 hours a day at the office.
She commented that pastry is just like any other industry – just a different game. There are those who get educations and those who don’t, but in the pastry industry, if you’re good you’ll go to the top.
When she first interviewed for the baker job it was a quick conversation. The real test was that many shops ask you to work 8 hours for them and that is what determines if you actually get a job.
She also noted that restaurants, bakeries and catering are all very different environments from each other. One way to get to know these environments is through what is called “staging.” It’s when you request to work at a specific restaurant or bakery. You basically go in to observe, learn and work for free for a day, week or month. In Europe, many don’t even go to culinary school but apprentice on the job for three years instead.
Finally she added that pastry chefs tend to be overly organized and very anal. She found that savory cooks were messy and never planned much, while pastry chefs were immaculate in the kitchen.
Today, Robyn is no longer “on the line” and is doing recipe consulting for a woman opening up an ice cream shop. She’s considered opening up her own bakery but admitted to being a bit intimidated by the obstacles: mainly the failure rate and the money required to start one.
Her parting advice was that you won’t always feel like doing everything, but she found she could not stay out of the kitchen. She highlighted that the pastry industry is a pretty small world. The people tend to be very friendly and open and most do it because they have a passion for it. “No one does it for the money,” she said.
After my conversations with Mary and Robyn and my first-hand experience at the San Francisco Baking Institute, I don’t find myself rushing out to start a bakery or pastry business. I guess, that in and of itself, tells me something. Though I am still enamored with growing my baking skills.
In the end, I found Mr. Gilbert’s advice useful. Getting some insight from those who have experienced or are experiencing what I’m interested in was very helpful. I learned I could make the switch to a career in pastry and probably do it well, but I’m not convinced it would make me happy.
This is an intriguing topic. We’re always looking for great resources to send to clients and my coworkers, and your post is absolutely worth sharing!