Talent is rising at Niagara College and the retail debut of student-crafted baked goods is the icing on the cake.
Benchmark Café is now offering treats from the inaugural cohort of NC’s two-year Baking and Pastry Arts Management certificate program.
While the one-year Baking and Pastry Arts certificate program has been a staple within the School of Culinary Arts since September 2013, the first cohort of the recently introduced Baking and Pastry Arts Management diploma program are the first to ‘proof’ their skills in the new two-year stream. After mastering the fundamentals in their common first year, the second-year students refine their skills to produce larger volumes and incorporate more creativity.
Every Tuesday and Wednesday, the café will feature a selection of what the second-year students are perfecting in their Baking Production lab that week. From artisanal breads and flaky pastries to decadent cakes and cookies, the menu depends entirely on the curriculum. If they’re learning it in class, there will be a chance to taste it at the counter – provided it meets the gold standard.
Chef Professor Catherine O’Donnell, who teaches the Baking Production lab, sets the bar high.
Second-year Baking and Pastry Arts Management student Catherine Van Schepen cuts freshly baked brownies in her Production lab, which may end up for retail sale at Benchmark Cafe if they pass the test.
“This is a learning facility, so this is an opportunity for students to make mistakes here, so they learn it, before they go to an employer,” said O’Donnell. “If a product doesn’t turn out, it won’t be sold. It must be consistent, to my standard, before it leaves the lab.”
O’Donnell, who joined NC faculty in 2015, made her mark as a world-class pastry chef in Niagara and beyond. In addition to being the talent behind Willow Cakes and Pastries (Niagara-on-the-Lake), she’s a veteran of high-end establishments like the Oliver-Bonacini Group, the King Edward Hotel, Hillebrand’s Vineyard Café, and Peller Estates Winery Restaurant.
She noted that the retail initiative is valuable for the students as they transition from independent small-scale to larger team-based production in their second year. The students tackle everything from research and creative development to aesthetics and packaging – and learn that consistency is key.
“They’re using bigger machinery, bigger bread mixer. They’re making buttercreams that are 15 pounds of butter instead of a half a pound,” said O’Donnell. “There’s a lot more competence in the students that I think is needed in the industry. The advantage now, is they come out of the program and can cut a square perfectly two by three, they can cut a cake into three without having to be trained during an employer’s busy season.”
Beyond showcasing the students’ technical skills, the new retail initiative solves the dilemma of what to do with the extra dough. Approximately half of their baked goods will be delivered to the café for sale, and the rest will either be taken home by students or donated to charity via the School of Culinary Arts’ Feed the Community initiative.
Kathy Gedel and her classmate whip up meringue in the production lab.
“I think it’s great because students are showcasing their work and people are able to taste what they have – from the College and even the public,” said O’Donnell. “There’s so much product when you’re baking so taking home products like this every day is lot. Everything goes somewhere now.”
Knowing that none of the product will go to waste makes the experience all the sweeter for student Catherine Van Schepen, who is looking forward to her baked goods – especially, her favorites: cookies – being sold at the café.
“It’s too much food to bring home every single week. I like knowing we can give it to other people, sell it and make good out of this,” she said. “It’s great that our fellow students get to try what we bake and not just the few people we know. Anyone can take it home with them.”
For student Kathy Gedel, selling her baked goods is a step in the right direction. After taking an early retirement from teaching, she enrolled in Baking and Pastry Arts Management to turn her passion for baking into a second career.
“The first year of the program gives you the basics and then the second year really prepares you more for working in the industry,” she said. “Knowing that our products are being sold to the public, instead of just being taken home to be eaten by our families, really takes it up a notch; we really pay attention to what we’re doing and how we finish the product.”
Benchmark Café is located at the Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake next to Benchmark. Watch for products from the Baking and Pastry Arts Management program to hit the shelves Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
The first cohort of Baking and Pastry Arts Management students are excited to have their products available for retail.
