Spencers Shadowing Journals

Shadowing Journal Time: 3:00 A.M- 1:00 P.M Date: Monday, Nov 26th Place: Fives Loaves Bakery, Watertown SD Hours spent: 10

Observations: I started my morning by getting to work at three, a bit earlier than I’m used to, but it’s fine. When I got there, they were watching for me out the door just waiting to greet me. When I walked in, they offered me some of their roles and juice, which I thought was sweet of them. After I consumed one of there tasty roles, I walked back in the kitchen and got ready to work. Immediately, I noticed that kitchen space is very limited and that they had very limited storage cabinets. That morning was pretty much just understanding the processes they go through each day. I met some really nice customers and got to show off my communication skills. They have a vast variety of products they sell. From cookies all the way to roles. Each day, they switch off baking different sweets, so that they have a little more variety for their customers. They have different options for the people who have different types of allergies. There are even some low-calorie sweets available, but you have to call in ahead of time if you’re interested in them. Over all, the first day was really productive. I learned a lot about what it takes to serve all those customers each day. I am looking forward to the next day; I hope to learn about their equipment next.

Time: 3:00 A.M- 11:00 A.M Date: Tuesday, Nov 27th Place: Five Loaves Bakery, Watertown SD Hours spent: 8

Observations: The second day was better than the first. I learned a lot more about the equipment that they use in there baking process. I also learned some different baking techniques that they use to mix and prepare their dough. I got to see some new and familiar faces throughout the day and I got to sit and visit with some of them. Everyone was so nice, and with as much business as they get, I’m surprised they aren’t as well know. When there, you’ll see exactly what you wouldn’t expect. Instead of a singular industrial oven, they have two regular kitchen ovens. They have an industrial freezer of which they keep their unbaked sweets, a refrigerator, and one industrial sized mixer. I asked them a question about if the lack of equipment slows them down any. Their response was, “Yes, all the time, but we don’t let that stop us. If something’s broke, we do it by hand.” Most days, they fill out several roll orders called in by customers throughout the morning, all the way until they close. I thought today was a pretty eventful day. This upcoming Saturday, I plan to learn what it takes to open a bakery of your own.

Time: 9:00 A.M- 2: 0 P.M Date: Saturday Dec 1st Place: Five Loaves Bakery, Watertown SD Hours spent: 5

Observations:

Since this would be my last day shadowing, I wanted to learn about how they started out and what they did to get their bakery started. To get started, they had to take out a few bank loans, which they had no problem paying off once they got going. The people who I was mentoring told me that they didn’t go to college, and that they learned by themselves. They said it took a lot of money and time to get their bakery off the ground. They’ve gone through a whole bunch of bumps and curves in the road, but there is nothing you can’t teach them. This inspired me to make my own plan for a bakery. I wanted to find a problem that sweets had first. I decided I would try to find a way to reinvent that sweet as a healthier version of itself. That’s what my whole senior project is about, doctoring up recipes to make them healthier.