Good news and bad news.
The good news is The Village Baker opened its second cafe in Port Townsend in addition to the one in Poulsbo. In a floundering economy, our business is booming. It's encouraging. My theory is that people will still spend money on affordable treats for themselves.....like good coffee and food. We've got that. Our main problem is that we run out of things constantly. It's been hard to keep up with the crowds.
We had our VIP preview opening on February 7th. Here's some pictures from that day.
This is me with my constant companion, a cup of coffee (as I like to call it, "a doublefat non-tall latte").
I'm behind my pastry case because I like to hide my fat. Besides, the pastries look great.
This is the right side of my pastry case..........
and this is the left..............
This is Tyson, the hardest workin' man in our shop. I'd like to say I was the hardest workin', but it's not
true......Tyson takes that award, and it's not an award I'm particularly working on getting. More on that later.
He's the lead bread man, and if you've never worked in a bread shop, cranking out more than 2000 lbs of
dough nearly every night in very hot conditions (even in winter), then you don't know what kind of sweat goes into that "pricey" loaf of artisan bread. We're not outsourcing our bread to India, so you pay a little more to keep our bread people contributing to our economy. Tyson's co-hort, Mo, isn't pictured, but she busts her butt just as hard. I have nothing but the utmost respect for those guys, because you couldn't pay me enough to be in that bread room. No way.
I've been there and done that.........no more! Also note how we bakers are usually seen with a cup of coffee.
Coffee+Baker=more work
Or, as the saying goes, "Drink coffee! Do stupid things faster with more energy!"
This is the fantabulous co-pastry chef Jewlz, her husband Tate on the left, and Tyson on the right. I have no idea what they might have been talking about, other than, "what the hell are we doing here? Are we crazy? Yep, we are batsh*t crazy."
This is Molly, one of the owners of The Village Baker. She also works hard, as does her husband and other owner, Michael. They pretty much eat, live, and sleep the bakery. Does Molly look happy but dazed? Yes, that's how it is these days......taking care of 2 cafes and a baking facility is more than a full time job, but they seem to handle it.........somehow. I've told them more than once that they are crazy to own a bakery, but I guess they like crazy.
Standing behind Molly is Marla, our new addition to the night pastry crew (danish and croissants) and she also works part time at the cafe as a counter girl. She's crazy too. If you have "crazy" on your resume, you're "in" dude!
This is Mr. Boss after our VIP preview day, and we employees broke out the bubbly. I took this
pic just after he opened a bottle and it sprayed over everything. A good laugh had by all, including
himself!
Now the bad news.
I'm behind my pastry case because I like to hide my fat. Besides, the pastries look great.
true......Tyson takes that award, and it's not an award I'm particularly working on getting. More on that later.
He's the lead bread man, and if you've never worked in a bread shop, cranking out more than 2000 lbs of
dough nearly every night in very hot conditions (even in winter), then you don't know what kind of sweat goes into that "pricey" loaf of artisan bread. We're not outsourcing our bread to India, so you pay a little more to keep our bread people contributing to our economy. Tyson's co-hort, Mo, isn't pictured, but she busts her butt just as hard. I have nothing but the utmost respect for those guys, because you couldn't pay me enough to be in that bread room. No way.
I've been there and done that.........no more! Also note how we bakers are usually seen with a cup of coffee.
Coffee+Baker=more work
Or, as the saying goes, "Drink coffee! Do stupid things faster with more energy!"
Standing behind Molly is Marla, our new addition to the night pastry crew (danish and croissants) and she also works part time at the cafe as a counter girl. She's crazy too. If you have "crazy" on your resume, you're "in" dude!
pic just after he opened a bottle and it sprayed over everything. A good laugh had by all, including
himself!
Now the bad news.
I'm leaving the bakery. My mom is getting on in years and has some health problems. I was having a caregiving company come in three days a week to make sure she got on ok, but a year and $18,000 later, I decided that wasn't too affordable anymore. I am now taking on the job of making sure Mom is ok, and I will be commuting and staying in Redmond (2 hours away) about 3-4 days a week. My main job in the coming days will be maintaining two households; my Mom's and my own. I don't mind it and I have the full support of my husband. He's such a good guy.
Mr. Boss says I'm welcome back at the bakery anytime, but I don't know when anytime will be. It could be years. Months.....weeks........it all depends. But I must say it's a generous offer and a compliment to my hard work that I've done for them in the past. Perhaps I'll be able to come back, but perhaps things will have evolved in the future and there won't be room for me there. I accept that. This is a big change for me.
Most of all I will miss the fantastic Jewlz. She's in the number one spot now, and she kicks ass. We'll stay in contact for sure, but I'll miss seeing her every day. You know how co-workers can be like family and she's more than family to me.
I'm hoping we can find some sort of body to replace me before I leave on the 11th of March. The pickin's are slim around here as far as finding dependable food people. There's plenty of people who have "crazy" on their resumes, but it's not the right kind of "crazy". We need crazy AND dependable, and that's a hard combo to find.
Mr. Boss says I'm welcome back at the bakery anytime, but I don't know when anytime will be. It could be years. Months.....weeks........it all depends. But I must say it's a generous offer and a compliment to my hard work that I've done for them in the past. Perhaps I'll be able to come back, but perhaps things will have evolved in the future and there won't be room for me there. I accept that. This is a big change for me.
Most of all I will miss the fantastic Jewlz. She's in the number one spot now, and she kicks ass. We'll stay in contact for sure, but I'll miss seeing her every day. You know how co-workers can be like family and she's more than family to me.
I'm hoping we can find some sort of body to replace me before I leave on the 11th of March. The pickin's are slim around here as far as finding dependable food people. There's plenty of people who have "crazy" on their resumes, but it's not the right kind of "crazy". We need crazy AND dependable, and that's a hard combo to find.
What will become of this blog?
Well, if you don't mind reading various ramblings from an ex-pastry chef turned elder caregiver, than that's where this blog is headed. There'll be pastry thrown in here and there, since it's my first love, but since it won't be my primary job, it won't be my primary subject. I'll always be a burned out pastry chef though....whether I'm working or not......
I wish my co-workers and bosses the very best.....they've got a good quality thing going and I'm sure it will be very very successful......
Well, if you don't mind reading various ramblings from an ex-pastry chef turned elder caregiver, than that's where this blog is headed. There'll be pastry thrown in here and there, since it's my first love, but since it won't be my primary job, it won't be my primary subject. I'll always be a burned out pastry chef though....whether I'm working or not......
I wish my co-workers and bosses the very best.....they've got a good quality thing going and I'm sure it will be very very successful......
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