Introduction and Lab Policies
Vicki Mendham
Welcome to Professional Baking Class.
Ingredients play an important role in baking. Not only do they provide the structure and flavor of all of the products produced in the bakery or pastry shop, their composition and how they react and behave in relation to each other are critical factors in understanding the science of baking. This is perhaps most evident when it comes to adapting formulas and recipes to accommodate additional or replacement ingredients while still seeking a similar outcome to the original recipe. It is important to try recipes as written before trying to make adaptations. It is equally important to take great care in weighing ingredients accurately.
Some classic bakery positions:
- Owner/Operator
- Counter person
- Assistant baker
- Head Baker
- Specialists: breads and rolls, pastries, cakes, donuts, bagels, cookies
- Cake decorator
- Pastry Chef
Laboratory Policies for Nicolet Culinary Arts Department
For uniformity and consistency within the Culinary program the following policies will be enforced.
UNIFORMS: White chef’s coat, black and white chef’s pants or black or white chef pants, leather topped shoes (black or white), white apron and white chef’s hat or skull cap.
Uniforms should be clean and relatively wrinkle free. Points will be deducted from the laboratory grade if the uniform is not up to requirements.
GROOMING Students are expected to follow good grooming practices in the lab. No fingernail polish, dangling jewelry, or excessive perfume is allowed. Hair past the collar line must be secured in a pony tail and constrained in the chefs’ hat. Men may wear beards and/or mustaches, however, they must be clean and neatly trimmed. Beardless men should be cleanly shaven.
ATTENDANCE: Attendance is a large percentage of the student’s grade. Every attempt to be in class on time is encouraged. Should an absence be necessary, inform the instructor prior to class.
EATING: Evaluation of the finished product by tasting is important to the learning process and the quality of the finished product. A “taste” is anything from a spoonful to a small helping. The instructor will inform students of the quantity of tasting allowed. Food destined to be served to customers is always tasted in small amounts until after service. Food may be taken home ONLY with the instructor’s permission. Food on the students’ shelf may be eaten at any time as long as the eating does not keep a student from his/her lab work and is not done in the kitchen. Food and dishes MUST BE RINSED AND CLEANED UP by the person eating the food.
DISCIPLINE: Professional behavior is expected at all times. The instructor reserves the right to request a student to leave the laboratory if behavior is unacceptable or endangering the safety of him/herself or others. A conference with the instructor will be necessary for re-admittance into the class.
EVALUATIONS: Evaluation sheets will be filled out for each lab day by the instructor and placed in the student’s folder in the production kitchen. Any questions should be discussed with the evaluating instructor. Evaluations and the folders they are kept in are confidential to the student they belong to and the instructor.
ACCIDENTS: Please report any and all accidents, regardless of how minor, to the instructor.
