Confessions of a Pastry Chef

Chapter 1

Camryn struggled to push through the massive crowd that stood outside the bakery. It was almost 9 p.m., yet a huge line still stood outside the store. The typical morning rush seemed to persist at all hours of the day.

"Excuse... me," Camryn was met with several hostile stares as she tried to weave her way through the jumble of winter coats and hats, amongst shouts from behind that she was cutting. "I work... here. I...promise." Finally, she managed to get a grip on the gold handle of the wooden door and pulled it open, struggling to catch her breath. Warm air rushed to Camryn's cheeks as she walked into the brightly lit Danner's Bakery and a bell chimed as the glass door slowly shut behind her. 

The scene before her was a mad frenzy, workers with light blue pinstriped aprons fluttered around with boxes of treats. Lines of winter coats stood waiting to be rung up at the four cash registers. Trays of colorful pastries were flying around the room on the shoulder of workers. And the smell--she took a deep breath and exhaled-- was heavenly. Camryn looked over to the cafe section of the bakery under a wooden archway. Customers chatted at tables with cups of coffee and tiny white plates of pastries. It was almost 9:00 in the evening, yet people still couldn't resist a cup of coffee and a cozy chair. Camryn grinned, that's New York for you. She took off her hat and shook out her long brown wavy hair.

A young British voice called out from somewhere in the crowd, "Excuse me, Miss." Camryn tried to find the source of a voice and saw a short, stout woman about her age emerge from the crowd. She smiled brightly and wore a professional outfit underneath her light blue apron. Her black curly hair was pulled back into an unruly clip and she wore black-framed glasses. "You must be our new second chef. Come this way." She said with a polite smile. Suddenly, Camryn felt her arm pulled, as she was dragged her through the frenzy of the bakery. The woman pushed past a swinging door to reveal a kitchen that was just as bustling as the restaurant.

"My name is Georgina. But everyone calls me Georgie. I'm the manager of this... madness." Georgie gestured towards the commotion that was the bakery's kitchen. Georgie led her through the kitchen, her heels clacked on the blue and white tile floor. In a similar commotion as the scene on the other side of the door, workers in blue aprons shuffled around with trays of cookies while others in white chef's outfits and hats shaped dough at their workstations.

"The runners are in solid blue aprons. They work solely in the kitchen, moving trays from the oven, fetching ingredients, cleaning workspaces, helping the chefs, etc. Servers with pinstriped aprons work out in the front of the House wait on tables, work the registers, refill the shelves, etc. The chefs, here, in the white jackets, work on preparing the pastries...obviously." She chuckled under her breath.

Georgie glanced at Camryn's bewildered expression, "You'll get used to it." 

Georgie took off walking again, her heels clicking as she went and Camryn tried to keep up to hear what she was saying. "It is quite the challenge, I must admit, keeping track of all this. But before I got here the system was much worse. No one was color-coded, people running around everywhere. It was chaos." Georgie added. "This is just...more organized chaos. People know what their role is and where they are supposed to be at all times." Georgie continued walking through the kitchen, her heels clicking on the tile.

"This is much bigger than the last bakery I worked at." Camryn called over the bustle to Georgie. Back in Iowa, Camryn served as the head of a small bakery where that had four people on the staff. All the big restaurants in New York were hierarchical--with table bussers, dishwashers, waiters and head waiters, and various levels of chefs. Camryn never imagined this kind of structure could be translated to a bakery. But Danner's Bakery was one of the most famous in the city. Located in the heart of the bustling Chelsea, it drew in people of all ages—workers stopping in wearing clean suits, young hip students doing work on stickers laptops, older retirees enjoying good coffee and a biscuit,  "How many employees are there?"

"There are seven runners, ten waiters, four chefs. I am the bakery manager, I oversee operations and help out in the front of the house. Louis, she pointed to a polished, greyhaired man in a clean dress shirt and pinstriped apron, is head server. Damien was recently promoted head runner," she nodded to a blonde young man, winding a large tray of pastries through the bustling kitchen. A tattoo, Camryn couldn't make out what, peered out from under his rolled up dress shirt. "And Chris Danner, is head chef, of course, he should be around here somewhere." Camryn peered around the kitchen, trying to get a glimpse of Chris, but she couldn't find him amongst the business and Georgie led Camryn into a large office at the back of the kitchen. "You'll meet everyone as you go, and I know you will get used to the system in no time." She glanced down at her watch, "We close in about thirty minutes, we can wait out the storm in here before giving you the rundown and a more in depth tour. Is that alright, Ms. Woods?"

Camryn nodded, her head spinning. "Camryn, call me Camryn," she added as they made their way into the back office.