My Major is Baking

I have always liked to eat desserts, cookies and bread but did not know how to make them, so I started to take baking classes in summertime four years ago. In the class, the chef told us many important rules, such as wearing slip-resistant shoes because the floor would get wet. Another rule was that we could not run in the kitchen, which was for safety reasons. We had to wear a uniform and a chef's hat during the class, and students could not wear any jewelry on their hands. We had to cut our fingernails and couldn't wear nail polish. We also had to bring our own equipment, which included a scale, measuring cups, measuring spoons, a ten-inch bread knife and a six-inch knife. Every single quarter, some ESL teachers came to our class and told us to take English classes. This was important for those students who could not speak, read

or write English. The chef told us that, a previous semester, one person did not know how to read English. That student took the stainless steel polish instead of the oil spray and started to spray it onto the cake pan, but another student saw it and stopped her from doing it just in time. The second student told the chef what had happened, and the chef got very angry and shouted at the student and said, "You should take ESL classes." The final test was in writing. It had twenty-five questions. When I finished summer class, I made an appointment to see a counselor. He explained to me that I had to take thirteen classes and forty-three units to complete baking classes. I took baking classes one through seven, Culinary Math Fundamentals, Recipe Formula and Food Costs, Introduction to Food Science and Nutrition, Introduction to Sanitation, Managing Food Sanitation and Culinary Career Success Strategies. Some of those classes were very difficult for me. We had to understand English in the International Patisserie, Candy Chocolate Making and Contemporary Plated Desserts classes, and I was lucky that I could understand, speak and read, but I could not write. The chef gave us some recipes, which we had to follow to make cakes and desserts. The chef said we could have to two or three people in a group, and we had to make different desserts. We could not make any mistakes because, if we did, we had to throw away all the ingredients, some of which were expensive. These classes had fifteen students. Few of the Asian students in our program took those classes because many of them could not understand English very well. In the final semester, the chef would not give us recipes. We had to find some recipes online and from books. Also, we had to make special desserts that were for people who needed lactose-free, gluten-free, vegetarian, diabetic and non-allergic diets. We made five different kinds of desserts and one special dessert every week for the Laney Bistro. For the final test, each person made three desserts and one special dessert. I made some Lactose-free, Organic Vanilla Soymilk Crème Carmel, a Chocolate Soufflé Cake, a Coconut Mango Mouse Verrine, some Coffee Pots De Crème, and some Almond Chocolate Chip Biscottis.

I spent two years in these classes and graduated in December 2011. I got my certificate, and I thank you, my husband, who paid all the fees.

(May) Suk Tong-Fung

November 15, 2013