I was always interested in baking and cooking since I was 7 years old. I tried different recipes now I want to go a step forward and get a good knowledge in the art of baking,especially baking cakes and decorating them. The main reason I love making cakes rather eating because I was very fascinated watching cake videos in YouTube they very quite satisfying. The place I live doesn’t have any baking schools nor a good bakery. Then I tried for a online baking courses which I wasn’t really interested in but I gave a try,I didn’t find a good one and they were very expensive too.
When I was attending my 9th grade exams in my school which was almost 30km from my home I went to a bakery. The taste was very good and mainly cakes tasted heavenly. So I asked for an internship and the owner immediately agreed. After my exams and a small break I started to go for the bakery by bus (that was my first experience of traveling alone)
I slowly walked into the kitchen with the owner,he introduced me to the chefs there. There are 3 chefs-head, chef- Dinesh uncle, he is the main one he leads the team,he makes all the main dishes,he will guide them with measurements and so on. Next the cook-Janaki aunty, she is the one who will help the head chef and do small works. Finally the pastry chef- Chanti uncle, he is the one who makes all the cakes and chocolates and decorate them. They were very welcoming and gentle. The owner walked me through the kitchen. I was very shy but the people made me feel very safe and homely. I was just watching them,observing them and getting to know about all the ingredients and their uses
From next day I was just with Chanti uncle exploring cakes in the Ac room. The ingredients and kitchen weren’t a new chapter for me, thanks to YouTube and the city I lived before,they helped me in knowing a lot of baking stuff. Chanti uncle briefly explained how a cake is built and showed me how to do. He was very skilled but he couldn’t explain me in a theoretical way like names of the techniques, methods and so on. He patiently answered all my queries. Dinesh uncle and Janaki aunty supported me and encouraged me and boost up my mood and gave a lot of tips. The only thing I hate about Chanti uncles cakes is his bad taste in colour combinations,I seriously felt like crying seeing his colour combos. I stayed there for 3hrs, the challenging part was standing up the whole time,if I am doing any work I don’t feel the pain but I am just standing and watching I feel the pain. They did have any chairs. I wonder how the chefs stay up standing from 6am to 5pm.
After getting a overview of cakes Chanti uncle let me do some cakes. It was very easy to see but when I do them I felt them little difficult. I didn’t get a good finishing so uncle came for rescue. I created disasters but Chanti uncle never said a word negatively he always encouraged me to create more disasters before I make a good cake.
In my journey I also got to see 2 new chefs who came for a interview. Every chef doesn’t like other chefs skills he feels he is the best and always criticise Other chef. I see a lot of difference in the terms they use and the way they use ingredients and tools and others. I couldn’t able to see the first chef work much,as I might miss my bus. But I could stay with the 2nd chef for more time. He was very friendly and very skilled. He was able to explain me theoretically and in an elaborate way. He also suggested me the initial steps like get to know about the tools and ingredients and then start practice holding the tools in a correct way and start mixing and rest. I was mesmerised with his skill. His has a good colour palette.
Due to long journey I had to take 1day rest after every 2days and somedays I end up getting sunstroke. So I mom and dad suggested to take a break due to the boiling sun (summer) as per health conditions I had to stop going to bakery. As a token of gratitude I gave all the chefs (my teachers) a gift. They felt really happy. I thanked the owner and he treated me with some free puffs. He also welcomed me to come back as a new chef is coming in 15days. (The 2nd chef got selected in the interview)
Overall the experience was excellent and I learnt a lot from them and got a overview of how the bakery works. And all I could say about the bakery and people is
“The people there are sweeter than the cakes”.
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