Posted by Tracey on March 17, 1998 at 10:31:29:
Dear Gerard,
I think it's great that I've found a website
where people still appreciate the Art of pastries.
You sound like a person who's very loyal to his craft
and quite honest ( I have to say I really enjoyed your
sarcasm in response to "How do I make cream from
scratch?") Over the years I've always felt that my
friends and family never seem to understand the joy and
rewards baking brought me. Even when I was managing
w/12hr days, six days a week, I would get up in the
middle of the night and bake if I couldn't sleep.
Weird huh?! Anyways, I understand your point and I'm
not going to close any doors until after my opportunity
to visit the school. I think opening up a small school
with low student to teacher ratios, that was taught by
someone who is qualified (as you are)and had an
investment into the business would be a great idea.
It is sad, but from my experiences people will not give
a damn about anything unless they have a strong work
ethic or they have a sense of ownership. Both are
becoming very hard to find. Since we all learn
differently and at different paces, I would generally
give them a trial period of sixty days. After that,
it would be obvious to me who cared and who was not
going to work out. As you know, as an instructor you
must get across two things: the expectations and fun.
I tried to teach my employees the value of their
actions (consolidation, waste, consistency, time
management, etc.), but in a fun and interesting
environment that would retain their attention. Without
these, their goals will never match yours which is most
important. I do think that if you were to do this idea,
you would be at an advantage in the sense that you're
providing a much more personable service. Some of us
still look for that. I know that most of the "great"
schools are up northeast, but there are plenty of us
down south whose options are quite limited and would
love that opportunity.There really aren't too many true
pastry shops around here (Austin, Tx.), but the ones
that are, are very popular and quite successful. You
should move; Ha-Ha! Well I've taken up enough of your
time, thanks again for the correspondence.
Tracey