My first semester is almost up!!! and Im in need of a break!!! I don’t remember the last day off I’ve had.

So, Basic Baking & Pastry and Chocolate class will be done, I’m taking Bread Making and Wine & Wine Service this summer, in the fall I’m taking Artisan Confections and Cake Decorating, I will also be the T.A. for the Basic class!!

Baking Baking Baking!!! I just hope I can start working soon!!! 5 years ago

I’m halfway through my first class and I’m doing well!!! I also just started my chocolate class and I signed up for Bread Making and Wine and Wine Service for summer!! I have so many classes I want to take, but I finally feel like I’m on my way!!! 5 years ago

Made focaccia bread and baguettes!!!! Here’s a picture of me with my fresh baked bread!!! 5 years ago

I signed up for the beginning baking and pastry class at the local college and I got in!!!! This class is so hard to get into because it’s only offered once a semester and all the culinary students need it so they fight for it. I registered online 2 1/2 hours after EARLY registration opened up and it was already almost full!!! If I had waited any longer I probably wouldn’t have been able to get in, I wasn’t able to last semester.

So now I’m in and I’m excited and nervous at the same time. I’m excited because it’s something I’ve been trying to do for such a long time and I finally get to, but I’m nervous because I don’t know how I’m going to pay for all the equipment and books I need and also because it’s been years since I’ve been in school and I know this is a hard class. It sounds to most people like a “baking” class would be easy but this is a serious class that is part of the professional culinary program and I guess it’s pretty intense and the teacher doesn’t mess around.

But I'm very excited!!! Finally I can start getting closer to doing what I love for a living!!! and What I've been trying so hard for years to do!!!! 5 years ago

so the local college has a few baking a pastry classes, not a whole program but maybe it will be enough to get me into the industry. I think at this point it will be best to start there, then if I am able to get hired somewhere I can learn a lot of it on the job, and I will still be trying to learn as much as I can on my own.

Also if I don’t end up needing to go to one of the larger schools I will save a lot of money. So, even though I was really bummed that I could not go anytime soon, it may end up better in the long run if I can start working as a pastry chef without having huge student loans to pay off and if I end up still wanting to go to one of those specialty schools in the future I can think about that then. 5 years ago

I wasn’t able to get the loans I needed to start school and then I didn’t end up moving to Portland like I thought I was going to, in fact it doesn’t look like I’ll be moving anytime soon. So now I need to figure out how I want to approach this. Do I find another school to go to? I don’t think there are any schools in the area. Do I take a class at the local college? Do I just learn to bake on my own and see if I can break in to the field? All of the above?

I really need to get moving on this but I don’t know what next step I should take. I want to start earning my living by baking and leave my current profession. 5 years ago