Tuesday, July 27, 2010

How do I summerize?

On my first post, I am a bit overwhelmed as I look back at how I got here. On my description I've given you a bit of a history and now I want to fill in some of the gaps.

By formal education I am an electrical engineer. I've spent a few years doing that and then spent another few years as a computer programmer. At either of those jobs I didn't feel the passion that I thought that I wanted in my job. That led me to make a decision that would drastically change my life...I moved to Montreal. I didn't really know what I would be doing there but I wanted a change. Seth, my brother, was working there for a large aerospace company and offered me a place to stay. By this time I was an obsessed home baker and with lots of free time in Montreal, without a job, I was able to bake a lot. It was great because not only did I have an image in my head of the perfect loaf of bread, I also had many great bakeries in my new found home that had great bread to strive towards. After a while, both Seth and I got tired of me not having a job and he suggested that I try to get a job at a bakery...I was baking all the time anyway so why not get paid for it! So how was a guy like me, no real baking experience, language barrier, supposed to get a job at a bakery. I had to be creative and the only thing that I had to prove that I kind of knew what I was doing was to "attach" a loaf of my best bread along with my resume. I went to several bakeries in my neighborhood and to my great fortune the best bakery in the city, others would tell me, gave me a chance. Those first few months were very tough. Getting used to a 3 am start time and being able to understand only a few words in French and being expected to not slow down production. I felt like I was over my head but I really wanted to learn how to really bake. I knew from the beginning that if this was my new career that someday I would open my own bakery. So no matter how bad it got I would persevere and I was going to learn as much as I could. I was put onto a rotation of all the stations and after I completed them, during the next 9 months, I felt like I had a solid foundation in the style of this commercial bakery. Eventually I improved my French and my baking skills enough to convince the bakery owner to send my to one of his friend's bakeries in France. I was excited! It took a while to get the paperwork filed but soon enough I was on a plane to Paris, France. The head baker in Montreal, that I first learned from, had gone to work for the same bakery in France. It was nice to have at least one friendly face. I stayed with him until I found my own place. I quickly found myself in the most difficult work situations that I've ever been in. If you think that French people are lazy I have first-hand experience to say quite the opposite. They worked amazingly hard. Even though I felt like I was in a military boot camp I have a very high bar to reach towards for my own bakery. I actually didn't work in Paris but just south of there about 20 minutes on the train in Sceaux. It's most famous for having a summer home of Louis XVI, I think. After working there for 6 months I was ready to come back to the states and start my own bakery. After some consideration, Lincoln, NE, seemed to be the most logical place...no other artisan bakery, close to family and relatively inexpensive to set up.

This now gets us up to where my description starts up.

In future posts I will elaborate more on the life of my bakery but, right now I have others ideas that I want to get out.

1 comment:

  1. I remember when you wouldn't let us taste the first loaves you were baking at that house on Phinney Ridge, because you thought they were't good enough. One time I swiped a slice from the kitchen while you were in the restroom, and I loved it! I can't wait to taste your 'professional' bread (even if it means I have to come to Nebraska to try it) <3 Frolein

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