6 Jul 2023
Victoria Rhodes, Application Specialist & Thought Leader, Patisserie.
Last year Puratos UK launched out Next Generation Bakers panel, as an extension of the training sessions we provide for certain institutions around the country. We decided it would be a great venture to tap into the young, enthusiastic minds of those who hold the future of baking literally in their hands.
I’m very proud to say that this venture was a great success, and we have been thrilled with the achievements of the 4 students we worked with last year.
Neala is halfway through her 12 month placement with Puratos at our Simonswood site, and I was delighted to have her help me with this year’s tuition sessions.
Nishitha brilliantly won the BIA “Rising Star” trophy 2022 , and is now working for the Village Bakery in Wrexham.
And we were thrilled to see the awards and achievements from our Sheffield students Ophelia and Chloe at the ABST Conference in June last year.
So, it’s now time to introduce you to our new panelists! I’m thrilled to say that this year we also have 2 students from the City Of Glasgow College joining us, which will give us a great UK spread of ideas!
Sheffield College
We have been working with Sheffield college and the inspirational guidance of Steven Salt for several years now. This year we have Sabrina and Megan who will be giving us their input and innovative ideas.
Megan was originally set to study childcare, but found a love for baking at home and has since fallen in love with dough and the soothing element of kneading. She feels it’s very important to know about the ingredients we eat and what we put in out bodies.
Her dream job would be...
To run her own bakery where she can produce innovative bread focusing on flavours and colours, maybe bringing in Pan Asian culture too.
Sabrina has loved to bake for friends and family since she was 13, she chose the course at Sheffield because it had a good mix of theory work and practical work, and the lecturers are very friendly .
Sabrina hopes to continue her studies to degree level and would ultimately like her own bakery.
Cardiff Metropolitan University
The great advantage of the training sessions that we have experienced, is the variety of courses and students we have met. This includes traditional bakery courses and in conjunction with Commis Chef Apprentices at Milton Keynes College and then, here, at Cardiff, we have worked with the students who are undertaking a Masters degree in food science and nutrition. It gives us a great depth of ideas, experience, and varying thought processes. This year, we have Maria and Phoebe, who have looked to the great and enthusiastic support of Lee Pugh and Anita Setarehnejad.
Maria’s aspirations are to go into Development and Innovation of food products, making them available in the market with more options for people following different diets.
Passion for something great begins with small experiences with what you like. Being a person with a sweet tooth, I must confess my love for cakes and pastries.
"However old I am, I will still look forward to the dessert session like a child. All of these life experiences instilled a passion for baking and wanting to expand my knowledge in the field.”
In her interview for the role on our panel, Phoebe told me that she had set up her own cake business in her home of Nigeria during covid. Her dream job would be travelling around the world, exploring and researching ingredients that can be used in baking or the food industry, in general, to enhance flavour profiles or functional properties.
Phoebe is also another student who sees the beneficial stress reducing qualities of baking!
City of Glasgow College
Finally, we have Jamie. Our first male member of the Next Generation Bakers! Jamie is another student who has grown up with a live of baking at home for friends and family.
Jamie is concentrating on building his skills in bakery for the next few years, but also works at Cuku on Great Western Road in Glasgow.
Courtney has always had a passion for baking but was unsure how to work to achieve this until she found the course at Glasgow College, under the guidance of Aileen O’Meara.
One of the highlights of her course so far was having the opportunity to meet pastry chef François Galtier, and she hopes to visit him in his bakery in Brussels.
I am very much looking forward to seeing what these inspirational people can come up with using Puratos ingredients and can’t wait to share the concepts with you over the coming months. Please stay tuned to the Puratos Instagram page and my posts on LinkedIN!
