Puratos, Flowers Foods offer real-world experience to next-gen bakers

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Puratos, Flowers Foods offer real-world experience to next-gen bakers

9 Jan 2024

Annie Hollon

Annie Hollon is a journalist, copywriter and social media strategist from the Dallas, Texas area. She found a love for magazine writing during her time at the University of Alabama where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, double majoring in public relations and English. Beyond writing, you can find her expanding her library, attempting to teach herself the guitar and trying new hobbies.

PENNSAUKEN, NJ — Puratos has partnered with Flowers Foods to create learning opportunities for the next generation of bakers.

Through the Puratos Bakery School, which opened in September 2022 at Pennsauken High School, students can prepare for a career in the baking industry through instruction in bakery, patisserie and chocolate specialties.

When Puratos opened the US Bakery School, the Flowers Food team expressed interest in supporting the school through guest speakers, internships and more. Since the school’s launch, Allison Antonini and Shelley McDonnough, senior VP of product development and manager of R&D at Flowers Foods, respectively, have worked with program organizers to offer students in the school real-world exposure to the commercial baking industry.

“This program is an opportunity to build on our existing outreach to future bakers in the area,” Antonini said. “We want these students to know what is actually taking place in the bakery so they can make informed decisions about their future career paths in the field. The more industry exposure they can get, the better.”

In December, 34 Bakery School students and staff members attended a day-long tour at Tasty Baking Co. in Philadelphia. At the bakery, students were able to tour the facility and hear from various members of the bakery team including a food scientist, operations specialist, HR generalist and quality manager.

“We want these students to know what is actually taking place in the bakery so they can make informed decisions about their future career paths in the field. The more industry exposure they can get, the better.” — Allison Antonini | senior VP, product development | Flowers Foods

“Working with large industrial companies provides a unique insight for the bakery school students to understand how the industry works, and see how the theory and skills they are learning in the classroom apply in a real-world environment,” said Andy Brimacombe, president of Puratos USA. “It also provides them with the opportunity to meet passionate bakers and explore different career paths within the industry. We are grateful to the Tasty Baking and Flowers teams for providing this great opportunity to the students, and are keen to work with other bakers to continue to build the students’ industry experience.”

Supplemental experiences such as bakery visits and guest lectures provide deeper insights into the commercial baking industry. This adds dimension to the Bakery School’s curriculum, offering students a greater understanding of the varying career opportunities in the industry and connections to people currently in the industry for further guidance and networking.

Puratos continues to seek new ways to supplement the Bakery School curriculum. If any individuals or baking companies would like to get involved, contact Braden Cadenelli, senior manager of national innovation centers for Puratos, at bcadenelli@puratos.com.

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