Dawn Foods has treated bakery students from City of Wolverhampton College an insight into bakery production.
The level 2 and level 3 Professional Bakery Diploma students, as well as some studying on the Bakery & Patisserie Foundation degree course, spent the day at Dawn’s HQ in Evesham, undertaking a factory tour, attending a product overview presentation, as well as a trends discussion focussing on vegan and super grains.
The students also participated in a practical session with Dawn’s technical application chef Robin Loud, who showed them the different ways of icing and decorating cupcakes using Dawn frostings, sprinkles and Dobla chocolate decorations.
The day finished with a presentation by Tim Clarkson, Dawn’s cluster director UK and Ireland who is a time-served baker, starting his career as an apprentice in the industry. Tim talked them through the different career paths open to bakery students, both in retail bakery and within a plant bakery environment such as Dawn Foods.
“This was the first time some of these students have visited a bakery production site so it was a great experience for them to see the different avenues that a bakery diploma or degree can take them, whether in production, new product development or management,” said Stephen Bladen, lecturer in hospitality & catering and bakery at City of Wolverhampton College.
“The group couldn’t stop buzzing about the information, practical knowledge and skills they learned on the day. Many thanks to the team at Dawn Foods for hosting this event for the students.”
The importance of nurturing the next generation was discussed at the recent British Society of Baking’s spring conference during which Rising Star Award winners Megan Roberts and William Leet said more could be done to support students. This includes greater awareness of internships, offering up visits to different types of bakery businesses and enhancing the visibility of different jobs.
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