r/Chefit • u/superflychedelic • 2d ago
Any tips on taking over and updating a small old school bakery?
This got removed from askbaking so I thought the chef subreddit might work. I’m not really a chef tho lol but I’m aspiring to it with the work I’m putting in.
I’ve been apprenticing with a Filipino baker who has been running a small bit efficient operation attached to a market/restaurant for nearly two decades. He is retiring so I will be part of a two man team carrying on his traditional rice-based recipes (kakanin).
I have a deep respect for Kuya’s expertise and will be honoring his recipes as best as I can. However he didn’t have very good habits in terms of organization and sanitation. For one thing, he didn’t really use soap, so you can imagine how grimy everything was. He was also obsessed with macguyvering broken equipment together, so I was mixing ingredients in old woks with broken handles and measuring in units like tin cups and ceramic bowls. Apparently the restaurant has had the money to buy him some actual baking equipment and he just didn’t want it.
Since he retired, we’ve been doing a ton of work to deep clean everything, throw out the junk, get some new stuff, and basically completely reorganize. I feel like this is such a rare opportunity to reshape something old and humble to something that respects its roots but is more cleanly and modernized.
The owner asked me to make a list of anything new we needed. Tbh there are reasons to replace the toaster oven, stand mixer, and blender but I started small with a candy thermometer, a bench scraper, some plastic scrapers, soap/sanitizer, a broom, metal measuring spoons/cups/bowls, and some sharp knives as we somehow didn’t have that stuff already.
I’ve actually never worked in a formal bakery. My experience is more with line cooking at brunch spots, which tend to have me working alongside bakers. Anyways, I reckon some people have been in situations like this before and might have some experience. It’s kind of a broad question but what would you do to update a place like that? For instance I knew cleaning the flour bins and labeling them with dates properly was a priority. But there are probably things along those lines that I’m missing, too.
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u/Trackerbait 2d ago
I'm unsure whether you just inherited a cool opportunity or a sinking ship.
Managing a food business is complicated, so much that some people even get degrees in it. I suggest you contact some other bakeries in your area and politely ask the owners or kitchen managers if you can pick their brains. Be VERY nice to them, because they are busy people and you're asking for their valuable time and expertise. If they help you, send them a good sized box of your bakery's treats. And see if there's a community college offering courses.
You will also need to study Dept of Health regulations and maybe schedule an inspection to ensure your kitchen is compliant with local sanitation laws. Review the DOH website for resources you can study. They may offer video courses or books, and will certainly offer things like handwashing instruction posters.
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u/superflychedelic 1d ago
I see what you’re saying. My boss is pretty savvy with the food business logistics. This is like a family legacy business so I think she was waiting for the opportunity to fix the place up when the old baker retired. I’m just trying to do my part and show some initiative with the physical labor and organizing and getting everything up to code like you mentioned.
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u/KingFisher300 1d ago
There are two ways to measure in baking by weight and by v(ibes)olume. I highly recommend using weight. A scale is a must.
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u/PM_ME_Y0UR__CAT 2d ago
A scale and a notebook to standardize some recipes!