working at a bakery
honu18
Posts: 294 Member
So--here's the thing. I love to bake. Absolutely LOVE it. I get ridiculously happy when I can bake things that I can bring somewhere else. I try to make excuses that people need things just to bake them. I obviously don't want to eat much of anything I bake, and oftentimes don't have that many places to bring things, so I don't get to bake as much as I want. Like really, I want to do it all the time. I'm in the middle of job searching for a full time job (as I just graduated), and I need some money on the side. That brings me to you know, a mediocre part time job. I really kind of want to work in a bakery or something, but I do love sweets a lot. Does anyone have any experience with this? Does it test your willpower like no other, or does it make you so sick of baked goods that you don't want them anymore? I'm wondering if I won't have such a strong desire to bake at home if I do this. Thanks 
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I wouldn't do it!!!
When I was 17/18 I had a part time job in McDonalds and I put on about a stone in a year. And it wasn't as though I really loved McDonald's food. It was just THERE. They weren't exactly giving it away to me either. You had to earn points per hours worked but when you went on your break you'd always have 'earned' a filet of fish or something. Anyway, my point is, that even if you have cast iron willpower, you will be tested, not just by tempation, but by convenience. Unless you know that every single night before you will be organised enough to prepare something that you can bring with you..... then yikes, eeek, seriously, I wouldn't put myself through it. And a bakery!!! of all places!? I just love the smell of bread. I try not to eat much of it but I'm only human, and if I were in an environment where I were surrounded by the smell of bread... then, flip, I would just order myself clothes two sizes up before I did the first shift.
Can you find another part time job somewhere else? a dog food factory!? :-)0 -
I think it's a great idea because you're not making it at home, and you wouldn't be feeling the urge to eat it since you're in a business. Of course, there are always leftovers, but I know you're strong enough to say no. I loveeee baking as well, and when I am baking for someone else, I always find it easier, because if it's for me, I'll eat so much. Same goes with other people's houses, I never have the urge to eat the stuff we're baking since it's not just me.
It might be tough some days to smell all of it, but, I think over time it helps with will power! You'll see everything that goes into the foods you're making and it will help you determine whether or not it's worth it.
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I used to work at a station cafe serving bacon rolls etc to commuters. That was a test but I was very strict with myself and would be so proud if I didnt touch anything. It was diet cokes and sugar free drinks that kept me going. You just have to be strong0
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It's all about what you can handle. If you want to eat bakery more than you want to be ripped.. then it's probably a bad choice.
If you think you can stay on track, then take the job0 -
work at pizza place a few days a week.. everything looks and smells amazing everyday... but i bring home a salad on most nights.. and 1 night a week i bring home a small pizza for me and the bf. just practice a little self control and you will be fine!0
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I worked in a bakery in high school..... it's not as "sweet" as you might think. After the first week, I didn't even smell the bread baking or the cookies coming out of the oven. Cleaning the huge bread hooks and enormous dirty pans of all the gook at the end of the day also curbed my appetite. Just like when at home you are baking and someone walks in and says "your house smells amazing" and you look up surprised (you're so involved in the process you stop smelling it consciously) you will get used to being surrounded by it. I'm not saying do or don't do it, just telling you what it was like to actually be there. The first two weeks it was such a novelty and I did want to taste things and then after that it was not even real food to me. It was a job.0
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Im a baker too! Love it. Quite a few years back I did cake decoration. I loved cakes and thought it such a great idea. After a little while...LOL....I couldnt eat the cake. Even just the baking and decorating I could taste the cake in my mouth without eating any. To this day I am not a big cake eater.
Then a few years back I had a parttime job at a Panara Bread......Yes when I first started I had to taste it all....but by helping to make it and then just having it right there all the time....after a while I really didnt eat any of it. I actually lost weight while working there.
Just keep your willpower and dont eat what is there. Its all about the willpower really.0 -
You won't have as much time to bake at home. But honestly, if you have no experience baking you probably won't get a job actually baking in a bakery. Working in a bakery can make you lose your taste for sweets, though it does take a LONG time to get to that point. Also, some people have an increased desire for sweets because, hello, sugar is addictive. My desire decreased after a year, then over the course of three years steadily increased into a full blown addiction. This is just my experience. I fully believe that it is possible to work around sweets an not eat them. I am going back into baking and plan on proving this point.
I think it's more likely that you will used to being in a bakery and won't have the desire to bake at home because the equipment isn't as nice and you don't have everything at your finger tips. Also, the bakery is so much easier to clean and it's easier to focus.0 -
Its all about will power. I work onsite at a chocolate factory and have been able to control my sweet tooth. Everytime I have a craving I would drink water or have some sort of fruit. Its def tough but you get the hang of it. Also its ok to indulge once in a blue moon. Do not make it a habit. I do have a piece of chocolate once in a while and make sure I add it to my calories.0
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I have an idea. Since you love to bake and are running out of places to take those baked goods why not take them to a homeless shelter or some other charitable venue that would benefit. Might even have a tax deduction there..LOL.0
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I love to bake as well. I started decorating cakes about a year ago & I bake & design cakes for all of my family events (birthdays, baby showers, bridal showers, holidays, etc). I also love to try out new recipes. I always want just a little bit. What has helped me is when I try out a recipe, I make it, snap a pic, & then divide it up by portion size & send some with hubby to work, take some to work, go visit a friend or family member, and I keep 1 for myself. I used to have a HUGE sweet tooth. Now, I can have a slice/piece and be okay. For me, it's more of a challenge: can I make something that pretty? Can I make it taste good? Will everyone like it? It's a great way to get my baking & decorating skills and if I choose to open my own place, I'm getting all the experience I can. So I get to do what I love without the guilt. I like to think of it as spreading the joy :happy: I spread all the love & joy I put into my baking and hopefully other people see that and feel the love & joy too!
SO... in response to the question: I think if baking is what you love to do, you should take the job. If you start to see that you're eating more than you're baking, you can always quit the job. You'll never know unless you try!0 -
I work in a bookstore at a cafe and it doesn't help me a lot, haha. I really watch what I eat there, if I do. When I first started, I ate, like, a cookie a day. Now I almost never eat the sweets at the cafe. Even if you start off rocky, I think you'll learn how to restrain yourself.0
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I'm a cake decorator, and I have my own tiny bakery. I don't like cake/frosting, so it's really not an issue...I DO, however, love cookies! Lol! I keep only healthy foods at my bakery, so I'm not tempted. I'm usually too busy to eat a lot while at work, though, and have to choke down a protein bar between cakes. Your job doesn't have to be a deal breaker when it comes to weight loss, you have to make disciplined decisions and go with it. I have faith in you! 0
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I worked in a bakery and also went to college for culinary arts.. I love to bake also anytime anyplace.. Working in a bakery has it's great things and bad..after a few weeks you don't smell sweets at all and it took me almost 5 years to be able to smell them again (i worked in the bakery everyday for 5 years) But i still ate the sweets...the hours are hard if you have a family with young kids don't do it!! Most places start baking at midnight for the next day...I would suggest a hotel...I work in one that is trying to open baked goods in to there program...so i get the best of both worlds i get to cook and bake and have pretty regular hours (stay at home mom i work nights and part time) and i don't have to have anything i bake sitting around in my kitchen!!!0
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I grew up in a family of professional bakers, I guess because it's all i've ever known, it just didn't affect me. I'd get sick of looking at cakes, pastries, etc. To this day, I don't really care to eat sweets.0
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I worked doing some collections for Memmi's Bakery in Hershey, PA
And believe it or not, you get tired of those foods.
Since that time, I have totally given up most breads, sweets and candies.
Just don't want them anymore.0 -
I say go for it! If you can find a job and make a living doing something that you enjoy so much, the rest will work it self out. Just keep little reminders of your fitness goals around to help keep you on track. If working in a bakery is what you realy want, go for it!
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I worked at a Kroger bakery and then as a Baker for Panera Bread....I did pretty good from refraining from eating any of it...helps that I am diabetic and know that I can't have the stuff anyway (or shouldn't have)
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It's all about what you can handle. If you want to eat bakery more than you want to be ripped.. then it's probably a bad choice.
If you think you can stay on track, then take the job
I can control myself Sometimes but I love sugary sweets don't know if I could do it.0 -
I work as a manager at an Italian restaurant. I can honestly say that I have only eaten a handful of times at work in the 23 years that I've worked there. We do have to test food here and there - but a few sample tests are not going to hurt you. Being around the food so much, I just have no desire to eat it. We also carry a wide variety of cheesecakes, which I have never had, or even desired to have, although I do love cheesecake. It's different when you work around it, at least it is for me.0
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My Mother works at one of the top bakeries around. She's diabetic. How bad would that suck? Seriously, she doesn't eat any of it and has no desire to. She said people start working there and eat everything for about a week, after that the though of a cookie or cake makes them sick. I think you'll be alright.0
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thought*My Mother works at one of the top bakeries around. She's diabetic. How bad would that suck? Seriously, she doesn't eat any of it and has no desire to. She said people start working there and eat everything for about a week, after that the though of a cookie or cake makes them sick. I think you'll be alright.0 -
you might not ever want to look at baked goods again after working there, lol. I worked at Dairy Queen when Iwas a teenager and I got so sick of even looking at ice cream. Of course I'm over that now But it may not be a bad thing. 0
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I also love to bake But since finding out my hubby is diabetic ...and accepting that in the 10yrs we've been together I put on 40+lbs, I don't get to do it so often anymore. SO I bake for others. I do custom cake orders (out of my home). I am currently working on 2 orders this weekend and do not feel the slightest urge to eat them...well maybe just a little taste of the icing, I like to call that quality control lol. 0
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I worked in a bakery, briefly. Everyone there was really skinny because it's a lot of work! You're constantly standing and moving around, moving heavy things, and scraping enormous quantities of batter into pans and buttercream into containers. It's a lot of fun and it must burn a ton of calories. Yes, you do end up sneaking tastes of things (and I never got sick of it) but I think the calories burned outweight those consumed.0
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Haha this is funny, I worked as a private cook / high-volume baker a couple years back! I had lost a lot of weight and was just maintaining.
I would say it ALL depends on the workplace!! In food service, a lot of time you don't get ANY time in a 10- to 12-hour day to sit and eat a proper meal, so you wind up eating whatever junk you've made while standing. One reason I quit was because I eventually got sick of having "lunches" of burned cookie ends and stuff, or starving until I got home and then binging as a result. If you work at a more relaxed pace where you can take care of yourself, it may not be so bad.
The good thing is that if you make the same thing over and over again, it loses its allure. That was the case for me eventually. At the beginning, I could barely handle making certain recipes (gooey pecan pie bars MMMMMM), but after a while I got sick of their smell 0 -
I run a custom cake business out of my home and have for 5 years now. I usually have 5-6 large 2-3 tier cakes I have to bake every week. Yes, I still LOVE cake and yes sometimes its hard. You have to cut the tops off and throw them away, I always used to eat them, didn't want it to go to waste LOL. It's all about willpower, and you can do it! For the past 6 weeks that I've been on here, I haven't had a single bite and just throw the scraps away and quickly move on. I have faith in ya'!
P.S. If you can't find an actual job in a bakery, try to open a home based business, it's worked wonderfully for me 0 -
Thank you so much to everyone for your personal experiences and thoughts. Definitely a lot to consider and think about. I feel more informed now though. You all rock 0
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