Lessons learned at the PieBird

1.how to work in a large scale kitchen with little work space

2. How to make deals with possible consumers

3.serve costumers

4. Try to please people to the best of my abiltities with items like our butter tarts we would make plain, some with raisins and some with pecans 

5.How to see things in a differnt light. Play dough molds are perfect for fondant ( new, never used ones to b exact)

6. Timing is everything. One minute by enough or to long makes the world a difference 

7.giving back to the community. 

8.experimentation is okay. Not everything is going to work out but you never know unless you try something new.

All I have is gratitude for the PieBird and its staff. You gave me an experience I can. Never forget or repay you for. 

One week withdrawal

I haven't been at the bakery for one week and I can honestly say I miss it desperately. I miss the people from the staff to the costumers and everyone inbetween that I came in contact with. I miss trying new recipes and spending hours it felt like to make bread;but the end result was always worth it. I will always remember my time with them and will Charish all my life lessons from there. Don't worry it's not the end of them it's jus the end of my journey with them but I promise to go back for their amazing sticky buns and you should too. 

Nestless

Well today is the last day of the PieBird on Main Street"west" to be exact  It's bitter sweet.

I have learned so much from everyone, like how to deal with customers. It's the place I earned my first tip and real kitchen experience. I owe everything I know to Judy and the PieBird. I guess my day to fly the nest happened alittle sooner than expected. But it's not about when you feel ready. They may be finding a new nest somewhere else, but for now we are nestless 

Growing up to someday fly the nest

I know that I said this blog was about the pie bird but it's also about my journey as I grow as a baker and a person each day in my co-op placement. And some people may find this irrelevant and to them I say that's fine you don't have to read this I won't get offended.

But last year around this time I was verbal abused by my uncle when my nan went into the hospital saying it was "my fault" and " if I spend less time worrying about my academics and more time with her this wouldn't have happened" ect. I'm not normally one to take things like this to heart, but he just crossed a line and something inside of me broke. Suddenly I believed everything he said was true. I stoped caring about school and grades and hanging out with friends, even work I acted as if I had no self worth; I became depressed. I have been dealing with this for over a year now and every once in a while I would contemplate death, yet never attempted anything i don't know if that's cause I'm a coward or that I'm stronger than even I know.

In the summer my parents started to notice and sent me to the doctors. I sat there before my doctor and blantly said " I'm depressed" I refused meds cause I didn't want fake happiness fueled by chemicals. And I refused to speak with anyone. This is one of the few times I have opened up. And I believe that's cause of the PieBird.

Baking has given me something to Chanel that emotion into. And the return is rewarding knowing something I made, made someone else happy, that they took it home or whatever they did with it and it brought a smile to their face helps me in some way. Judy and everyone at the PieBird have given me the tools to grow as a person and someday help me leave the nest without even knowing it. 

***No I don't want your pity or for you to worry about me I am still jenn just a little differnt,some days I won't be happy but I will still pretend everything is fine because "sometimes you can't let what you feel on the inside reflect on the outside." -don't forget me 

The spirit of giving

Let's face it we aren't the most profitable business in smiths falls and judy will tell you that, but that doesn't mean we don't notice or care about the less fortunate. This week I learned just how much the PieBird does care. I found out that we give food to the poor man who goes thru the dumpster for his kids and him so they can eat that night. We donate pies and breads and cookies and a whole bunch of that good stuff to fundraisers so they can be auctioned off to help organizations that make a difference. We may not be the most profitable business in smiths falls but we found riches else where. Isn't that what matters? 

colour wars

We all don’t want a white wedding cake we want colour but what’s the best way to get it, food colouring or gels? So we decided to test both in an all-out colour war and decide what works best. We tested the pigment to amount of colouring needed to achieve it, the taste and the price.

The normal food colouring that you buy in the grocery store retails for around 5 dollars and you get the basic colours. Red,blue,yellow, and green, allowing you to make a multitude of colours. We tested this on one batch of our buttercream frosting and had to add a lot to get a muted version of the colour we wanted. it also never got any darker, when we added more and let it sit for a while. Than finally came the taste test. With all the food colouring in it we found it made the icing taste very artificial. This is a good way to hype any kid up on sure.

The gel colouring that can be purchased at Michaels craft stores for 2$ or bulk barns for the same price. we purchased the same colours (red, yellow, blue, greeen) to keep the tests fair, although there is a large variety of other colours avalible. We than made another batch of our buttercream. We found that with the gel a little goes a long way. Using a 1/4 of the amount as the standard food colouring to get a more pigmented colour. When it came to the taste test we found that the gels had little to no effect on the taste or integrity of the icing.

In this battle of the colours gels win and is what we use in the bakery for every cake.

👻No tricks just treats🎃

Halloween comes once a year and we like to do it right with candy apple and cupcakes and Skelton cookies.