Grad living her dream

By Jenny Tang

tang0120@algonquincollege.com

From the sweet beautiful swirls of frosting to a fresh loaf of artisan bread, the art of baking is a niche Sarah Perreault wants to explore.

“[Cakes are] my favourite just because there’s so many different things you can do. It’s fun figuring out different designs with icing,” said Perreault. “It’s really neat to see people who aren’t in the industry look at a cake and be like, ‘That’s edible?’”

Perreault, a graduate of baking and pastry arts, found a place where she can put finishing touches on pastries and design simple to intricate patterns with the icing bag. La Provence bakery in Kanata has given her an opportunity to showcase the skills she practiced in the kitchens at Algonquin.

“I found, in my experience, [at Algonquin] we learned really quickly but we got to learn a lot more,” she said. “They do a good job of teaching you what it would be like if you were in a real world.”

And that worked out just fine for her when she started at La Provence.

Joining a new bakery means that she would have to learn all the recipes and pick up on things really quickly, said Perreault.

While she is currently enjoying her career as a baker, it wasn’t always something she wanted to do. With hopes of becoming a chef, Perreault initially went into culinary management, but had a change of heart when she realized that she didn’t want to be in the kitchen for the rest of her life and would rather be expressing her creativity through baking. The switch from culinary management to baking and pastry fine arts was a decision she’s glad she made.

“When I started [baking and pastry arts], I knew,” said Perreault.

Tony Bond, co-ordinator and professor of bakery and pastry arts, agreed that switching from culinary management was a good choice for Perreault.

“As with several students in the chef training program, [her] artistic ability is better shown in the baking and pastry field,” said Bond. “Sarah has progressed greatly from her first taste of college baking. Her knowledge and skills have grown tremendously.”

As a recent graduate, Perreault is unsure of what she wants to do in the future, but she’s thinking about going into her own business or catering. However, she’d like to stick with what she’s doing right now.