It's Our Jam
Quarterly Newsletter from CVCC Baking Arts Volume 1 Issue 4
2018-19 Quarter 4 Final Newsletter
It has been my honor and privilege to teach these amazing students all year. I wish them success in their futures and know that they are capable of achieving any goal they set for themselves.
Chef Clark
Max Kissner - Senior U-32
This has been a wild year here at Bakeshop. It was a very relaxing year. Nothing seemed to go wrong at all during classes. In the beginning, we would work on this safety, food safety and sanitation course called ServSafe. There was a bunch of homework that was handed out, and that stressed me out a little bit. I managed to get through the training and homework. There was another training course that we had to do called SP/2, which is a kitchen workplace safety course. We all passed that, and we felt very successful because now we could all BAKE!!!!
After the training, we were making cookies and bars right from the start. We made all sorts of cookies and then bars. We started to do a daily morning activity called “word of the day.”
For the word of the day, we would write down a definition of a specific baking related word that was posted on the whiteboard. We have gone through more than 50 words this year. October 26th was our first Bake sale and we were really excited to get things going. This first bake sale we did not have all the pastries or cakes that we have made later on in the year. It was our first so we started off small with cookies, bars, brownies, and a few other tasty treats. Throughout the year we have made more and more sweets for restaurants and bake sales like cakes, pastries, souffles, tarts, puddings, and even ice cream!!!
We have had visits and demonstrations by a couple of high educational culinary schools. Our first demo was from the CIA (Culinary Institute of America). They showed us a video about how their school works. The woman who was there gave us a demonstration on how to make edible cookie dough which was pretty tasty. Later on in the year, we had JWU (Johnson and Wales University) come up. It was pretty fun to see and also participate in the activity that the student was presenting us.
From the beginning of the school year, we were given a textbook with a bunch of chapters to read. It is called the Professional Baking book. Each week we were given a homework assignment to either complete during the week or over the weekend. The homework would be based on a chapter that we have read, usually answering questions related to the chapter. We have also worked on another textbook that is culinary math. We have been learning how to use math with food. We get homework for that too but not as often as the professional baking book.
I have had a few struggles this year being in bakeshop but I am glad to say that I turned myself around. This year I struggled with attendance. I have had so many tardies and a few absences that I was coming close to not passing the course. Another factor that made me almost not pass is the whole homework situation. I am a guy who doesn’t like to do homework AT ALL. It's never been my cup of tea. I have had so many missing assignments that I was also close to not passing. But now that I realize it is essential to do your work because I want to be able to move on from high school. Another thing I struggled with for this year was showing up to school and I finally am now avoiding being tardy and absent.
To wrap it all up, I would say this year was a blast. Despite the struggles I’ve had I thought this year was amazing. It was really an adventure throughout the year because I have watched myself and others succeed or struggled. Pushing through struggles was definitely a highlight because it tells me that I am not a quitter. My teachers have made this year fun too by being really nice, funny, and supportive. Also having this class being off campus was pretty cool because I don’t usually focus well when I’m in a school building. The work and the hands-on learning makes CVCC a fun place to be at.
Filled Cupcakes
Cornerstone Pub and Kitchen
Two Loco Guys
Drew Pecor - Junior SHS
What a Year!
Going from a traditional and maybe perhaps boring learning environment at Spaulding to the incredible hands-on learning experience at the Central Vermont Career Center is unforgettable. The amount of content that I learned from physically doing the work helped further my learning and made me more interested in the classroom content. Classroom expectations also align with the hands-on work to create a cooperative environment for not just me, but also my classmates. We all learned that in the professional kitchen workplace, there are a lot of tasks that just a one person job. Most of the tasks during production take 2-3 people to complete, which is really good teamwork skills to have for life in general.
At the beginning of class, before being able to begin baking, we needed to pass a food safety and sanitation course that is part of the curriculum called ServSafe. In that, we learned how the proper way to store foods, how to handle different foods without cross contaminating, and kitchen sanitation. We also took a small certification course for ServSafe Allergens so we can fully understand how not to cross contaminate and potentially have a life-threatening situation in a restaurant. Alongside that, we started making our first items in Bakeshop! We started with cookies and bars. This was a way to get familiar with the tools, their locations, and where all of the ingredients are so that it would be easier in the future. We also learned to mise our ingredients. What I mean by that is mise en place means everything in its place, and we always need to do that before mixing so we know we have all ingredients and bakeware is available.
In the first quarter, we held our first bakesale! We started with cookies and bars to showcase our work from the past week(s) along with other stuff that Chef and Ms. Gingras made. After the cookies and bars, we started a textbook called Professional Baking. The first thing we learned was the makeup of loaves of bread, more specifically yeast loaves of bread. This was when we started to make things like rolls and traditional bread, more specifically, loaves of bread because Thanksgiving was coming up.
Along with the traditional breads, we also made things like focaccia. This bread is made like any other bread, just shaped to fit a half sheet tray and loaded with olive oil and Italian seasonings to give it a nice crunch and flavor as well. That one was one of my favorites. As the second quarter approached, we started to go further into depth with our baking. We continued to learn more about bread, but then eventually moved on. Next, in the curriculum, we learned about the pastry basics, basic syrups, creams, and sauces, and leavening agents. Leavening agents are what help bakeshop items setup or help keep their structure. So, for example, cookies; their leavening agent would be baking soda and baking powder, and for cakes, the leavening comes from air that has been incorporated with the creaming of the sugar and fat, in addition to chemical leaveners. When the sugar and fat are creamed for a long time, the air is captured it providing leavening. The sugar provides moisture and structure; therefore once the cake has cooled, it will maintain its shape and height.
As time went on, quarter three came and left quicker than a snap of a finger. We learned lots of things in that quarter. We started with cakes, then moved onto custards, kept putting out orders for local businesses, Cornerstone Pub and Kitchen, Two Loco Guys, Studio Place Arts, and even local Elementary Schools, and we also made more cookies and fruit desserts. With all of these topics, they taught me more skills regarding time management and also being efficient. Cakes take a lot of time, but if you can manage your time wisely, you can get everything prepped and assemble for a cake in a day or two. But even if we have an order that we have to prepare and we are waiting for cookies to bake for that order, we can start prepping for bake sale so that there is one less task to do.
As things start to come to a close, there seems to be no end in sight. During quarter four, we got slammed with so many things at once, making it a very stressful quarter. Although it feels stressful, it also feels rewarding. Our past three bake sales have sold out within 30-40 mins of opening, which is such a great feeling. But we now know that in order to keep up, we need to have more available. In quarter four, we have made a combination of everything we learned. We have made many, many bars for lots of different orders, we have made lots of pies, tartlets, and cakes, lots of breakfast pastries, and many other different things for bake sale.
Overall, this has been one of the best experiences of my life. Not only did I learn a lot, but I also had SO much fun with everyone that was in the program. The Baking Arts program (more specifically Chef Clark) taught me more about baking than I ever imagined. I learned lots of different terms about equipment, different desserts, and even some culinary terms that I never even heard of before. The biggest takeaway (for me) from this class was teamwork. Baking has lots of responsibilities and tasks that can’t be all done by one person, it takes a village and having awesome, down to earth people in class makes it so much more fun and productive. This class also taught me that it’s okay to go outside of your comfort zone once in a while because that came into place during the Sysco Food show. Being able to start and hold a conversation for me is like asking the impossible, but during that event, I was able to do that, and I am still proud of myself for that to this day. I have learned lots of life skills from this course. After ServSafe®, my food handling, safety, and sanitation will never be the same. I have also noticed that when I’m baking at home or with someone at their house, I am more efficient and confident that I won’t mess up.
Triple Chocolate Cupcakes
Order Prep
Finishing sprinkle
Kiersten Mongeon - Junior SHS
When I first started this program, I only knew one person out of the three, which wasn't that bad. It was different only having three classmates compared to 20 or 30 kids in a class. We all clicked and started becoming friends and even started a group chat on social media to talk and discuss our homework, but things started going a little downhill with that, so we stopped using it for a while. After a few changes like no more internal problems, we can have full discussions and connect. It’s a better place for us to go and talk.
I have learned amazing things through the Baking Arts program this year. I learned more about handling food and working with allergens. Although it was very challenging spending most of the program day learning about ServSafe managers, ServSafe Allergens and s/p2 (kitchen safety in the workplace). We played educational games, discussed power points, and watched videos for the ServSafe, which was good because it gave us a little break. Another thing about starting this program was the changes I've made (they were for the best). I’ve become more independent, and I don’t rely on having to follow someone else or having a friend by my side all the time. I also had to cut my nails and stop wearing nail polish, which was the most hurtful change I had to make.
The thing about starting this class was that it was very different than what I’ve been doing my whole life. I spend around 4 hours a day in my program when I’m used to only going to one class for about an hour or an hour and a half with all different kinds of people. This class was not how I had always envisioned school. In Bakeshop, I was always hands-on and up and doing something. Everything I learned this year was helping me see what the real world is like. Our class, including myself, only has four students. I knew Drew from regular school through lunch and student council. Other than that, I had no clue about him or anyone else; we were all so different. The first few weeks of school we tried to become friends, but I was too nervous about putting myself out there so thank goodness Bailey was willing to. She mentioned starting a group chat on snapchat, and we called it “bakeshop buddies,” and we all used up our group chat conversations in the first two days and then it got out of hand. We stopped using it for a good amount of time, but eventually, we used it again to help each other with homework. Now that the curriculum is slowing down, we also chat about our lives outside of school.
I learned a tremendous number of skills from my program. I used to be nervous about interacting with people I didn’t know, but when we have our bake sale days we talk to so many new people! I’ve conversed with all the Cornerstone and Two Loco Guys employees when we deliver our baked goods to them. When I’m working bakesale, it’s such a great experience. I talk to a lot of people, and I handle their food. This program has helped me tremendously with my customer service skills. I have left my comfort zone and look forward to speaking with customers, something my traditional academic classes would not have helped me with.
When I first met Chef Clark, I was so scared because people would say she was very strict and not so nice. She was strict but fair, and I liked the way she taught. She kept me engaged the whole time, and it probably helped that it was about a subject I loved to expand my learning. I love coming in every day to see her, and Ms. Gingras sitting at their little desks and saying ‘good morning, Kiersten’ and then talk about what happened last night or what we will do after school that day. They both always put me in a good mood in the morning, which is hard to do. It was hard for me to bond with my classmates because I never knew what to say, so I always let them start the conversation. Now we all start talking and then it’s hard for us to stop because we get so into the conversation.
CVCC is one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. Quarter awards let us see other programs in action, and it shows how hard every kid works, and you can see that they truly enjoy what they chose to do. It has opened new doors I never thought I’d get the chance to open. This program helped me realize how much I loved baking, and it wasn’t something I just wanted to do at home. It was something I want to bring to the world. I would strongly recommend anyone to look into the Central Vermont Career Center because there are so many things kids at regular school don’t understand about joining these programs. You don’t just sit all day learning things you won’t always use in the real world. It’s real life skills, and it’s your choice on what you learn.
All You Need Is Love
Flambe
Yule Log
Bailey McHugh - Senior HUHS
In the spring of my junior year, I started to pick out my class schedule. I was having a hard time finding things that interested me, and I tried to have a minimal schedule so that I could work during the day. I knew that I didn’t have many credits to fill, so I didn’t feel like wasting my time in classes that I didn’t need to take. After going to a Central Vermont Career Center presentation, I decided to talk to my guidance counselor about their program offerings. I have always loved baking and wanted to see what I had to do to join their program. At first, I was skeptical of going to the career center because I thought I would miss out on things at Harwood, but I still applied. I ended up choosing CVCC for my senior year because I wanted to find out if a career in baking was what I wanted. Chef Clark was a wonderful person from the beginning, and this was another thing that drew me towards the Bakeshop. I was also surprised to find out that it was completely free! During my Shadow Days at Bakeshop, I immediately knew that I loved the program. I was amazed at how much equipment the students were allowed to use on their own, and I wanted to experience that.
The year that I’ve spent in Bakeshop has been my favorite year of high school by far. I’ve gotten to make great new friends, and my grades have been better than ever. The workload in Bakeshop is very different from a typical classroom setting, and the pace works much better for me, which allowed my grades to accel rather than floundering in a random AP class. In Bakeshop, even during lecture time, I always felt like I was learning something. I didn’t dread doing my homework anymore because I knew it was going to be interesting and that I would learn from it. I’ve learned an incredible amount of new information and skills, including how to make ice cream, the reason why bread dough rises, why cookies spread when they bake, and countless other things. Some things, such as laminated doughs and decorating cakes, proved to be very hard for our whole class, but we all feel much more confident now that we’ve worked on these skills. We also got the chance to take a Culinary Science class online through NECI, from which I gained three college credits that are transferable to other schools.
Although I have a hard time saying that I don’t like something about Bakeshop, I do feel that I miss out on some opportunities at Harwood. I am forced to miss all the assemblies and a lot of the Spirit Week festivities. I also miss being around my other friends. Even though I see them every day, I sometimes feel disconnected because they are together much more often. Another thing I miss is being able to be enrolled in more art and music classes, but the knowledge that I’ve gained this year makes all of these things completely worth it.
CVCC has helped me realize that I do want to pursue baking as a career. We have practiced so many different styles of baking and learned some management skills as well. A job shadow arranged through the career center led me to Red Hen, where I applied to work and was hired. My fellow baking arts classmate, Drew and I went in for a morning shift and were able to see how the bakery is run, and they allowed us to form bread loaves! That experience showed me that Red Hen would be the perfect place to work. The college visits from Johnson and Wales University and the Culinary Institute of America were also very beneficial to me. I applied and was accepted (with scholarships) to both schools! I will be taking a gap year next year to make some money, but I am still deciding whether I will eventually attend JWU or not.
This year has been the most exciting of my whole high school career. Getting to work with Drew, Kiersten, Max, Chef, and Ms. Gingras daily has made me so happy. All the skills I have gained from this year are going to help me exponentially in my future endeavors, and I am so grateful for all that I have learned. I have been given so many incredible opportunities this year, and I am so appreciative of that. I am very glad that I chose to do this program, and I have already been recommending CVCC to students in younger grades and even from other schools. Everyone deserves the chance to do something that they love every day while they are still in high school, but I am one of the lucky ones who got to experience it.
Triple Caramel Cupcakes
Steady Hands
Buche De Noel
CVCC Baking Arts
Email: wclarcvcc@u61.net
Website: cvtcc.org
Location: 136 North Main Street, Barre, VT, USA
Phone: 802-622-0333