In this series, British Baker talks to people from across the baking industry to find out about their career path, what their job involves, and the latest trends that are shaping their work.
We’re looking to showcase a diverse range of talent and job types across the industry, so if you’d like to be involved, please email dan.riley@wrbm.com.
Name: Emily Jane Black
Age: 32
Job title: Owner / Chef
Company and location: Ems & Co. Pastry Shop, Crieff
Education: MSci Immunology with First Class honours, University of Glasgow
Tell us about your career to date:
I spent my university years working in a cafe/deli before deciding to become a chef and moving into fine dining where I spent 10 years working my way up as a chef. I worked my way through all the sections of the kitchen before moving to London to dip my toe in the world of Michelin. I very quickly decided that wasn’t for me and came back home to the north of Scotland to open Ems & Co. version one.
After almost three years of running the 70-cover cafe, and falling in love with my partner, Andrew, I decided to close the cafe and move in with him and his two children in Crieff. I then spent two years working as the head pastry chef of Cromlix Hotel before taking the plunge and opening the pastry shop. Now Andrew and I are happily working and living together, and so far, the shop has been received well by locals.
Explain your job in a sentence (or two):
I take responsibility for the sweet offering in the shop. We have a big window display, which we fill to the brim every day with cakes, pastries, and brioche buns. I’m also in charge of the overall running of the shop including accounts and some of the less glamorous jobs like sorting out the bins and doing the washing up.
What does a typical workday involve for you?
Each morning starts with proving and then baking the vennoiserie, baking the sausage rolls, pies, Turkish flatbreads, frittatas, and focaccia. As these are cooking, I ice and decorate all the cakes for the counter, filling up the window display. The savoury selection is then decorated and filled and a daily salad made.
At opening time, the big clean up from the morning begins, and I assist our front of house person with service in between washing up. As it gets quieter in the afternoon we can start baking for the next day, shaping croissants etc. This usually takes us well into the evening, and we leave when all the cakes are baked, and the fridge is stacked with everything to be baked in the morning.
Tell us about a challenge you have overcome recently:
Installing the plumbing into the shop was a big endeavour. The shop only had one small cold water hand sink, and we had to get water to the diagonally opposite corner of the shop. My dad came up with a master plan but putting it into effect involved a lot of scrabbling around under the floor trying to get pipes in the right direction and the installation of a macerating pump to ensure water would travel uphill to the drain. It’s safe to say I’m glad I’m a chef and not a plumber.
What are your career highlights so far?
Long ago when I was a commis chef at Cromlix, we hosted the Roux shoot, and all sorts of famous chefs were in attendance. It was a really high-pressured few days. At the end, Michel Roux Sr toasted all of us, and thanked us for the food we had made. He then took the time to come and chat to us all and encourage us in our careers.
When I was head pastry chef at Cromlix, my afternoon tea was included in a Forbes magazine article as one of the “13 Luxury Hotels That Taker Afternoon Tea To The Next Level” – it included hotels from across the globe!
More recently, after opening Ems & Co. Pastry Shop in Crieff, it’s been amazing to have a couple of my recipes published.
What’s the biggest misconception about being a pastry chef?
Lots of people look at the pastry section in a kitchen or hotel and think there’s not a lot going on. Though, it’s just as busy as any other section in the kitchen, just that almost everything in pastry needs doing in stages.
What advice would you give to aspiring bakers in the artisan sector?
Learn the classics, and work in restaurants or hotels with discipline, and then when you have learnt how to work well you can branch out and become creative and do your own thing.
Interested in a career in bakery? Check out Foodmanjobs for the latest vacancies
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