I knew it would probably help me to work in the industry at least a little bit, just to get a feel for mass production and how to transition from my home kitchen. So I got a job at a catering company on the East Side. I would work there two nights a week, helping them with various very basic breakfast pastries like muffins and scones. They had their own pastry chef who took care of all their high end mini desserts and other more exotic pastries. My boss and I clicked immediately and we started to figure out we had a lot in common. Unfortunately, a lot of the job involved me sequestered in a corner making massive amounts of muffin batter and cutting tons of scones. I worked really fast, but then also noticed I made a lot of little mistakes that I was usually able to correct, but it was a little annoying because I like to do things right. It was cool because I got to know the pastry chef some, who, incidentally, makes the most amazing bread, so full of flavor. My boss taught me a lot about being efficient and saving time, and she was very obsessed with saving on dishes, to such an extent that sometimes she would plan production around trying to use the same bowl or bin for an entire production session without washing it. It was definitely intersesting.
After a couple of months and the year was coming to an end, it became increasingly difficult to break up my week and spend two days on the East Side, which would upset Sugar’s bakery production and make it difficult for me to manage. The thing was that I was earning just enough to cover my rent at the shared kitchen, but then my brilliant husband said, “why don’t you just sell more pastries for Sugar to pay your rent.” So then I began outlining a plan to grow Sugar and decided to quit the catering company. I learned a lot in my short stay there, but it was time to move on. I probably gained 5 lbs because we were always snacking on mini desserts, and there were always a few scones for me to eat on the long drive home.
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