Anthony Pipitone, 29 / SELF-EMPLOYED: Oak Park Bakery / SALARY RANGE: $50,000 and up
Why did you choose this field?
My father has owned the bakery for 14 years. I started here when I was 16, washing pans. After that things sort of fell into place. I did go to school for electronics for a couple of years–I worked a split shift and squeezed school in between. But that didn’t work out. I was already married and having a family, so I turned to the bakery. I knew my father’s partner eventually would be getting out of the business, and that it was only a matter of time before I could be part-owner.
How did you learn the trade?
When I was in high school I’d work midnights on Fridays packing coffee cakes, icing and putting sugar on the doughnuts–some of the simpler jobs. I was sort of a baker’s helper. It took about five or six years after high school for me to really get the hang of it. I just watched, paid attention and the rest came naturally. It’s hard to find bakers; it’s a dying trade. Most schools (that teach the trade) are geared more toward pastry chefs, who make fancier items, not people who want to work in a traditional, family bakery. Now most people are taught right on premise or go to work with a European baker (to learn). For example, we now have one full-time baker from Poland and a couple of part-timers who trained in Poland.
Describe an average day.
I come in around 8:30 a.m. and work until 7 p.m., sometimes until 10 p.m. if I have early orders to get ready for the next day. We open at 5 a.m., so I have to make sure they’re done the night before so they’re ready for customers to pick up in the morning. I have a helper who’s with me all day until 2 or 3 p.m.
Everyday has its own items–one day the special might be turnovers, for example. Early in the day I usually deal with (baking supplies) salesmen. When they come in we go through the stock, and they let me know what specials they have going on. Second, I check to make sure there are enough things to sell and I check the cake orders to make sure I have time to get everything ready. Third, I bake cakes.
Then I start over. I check the cake orders for the next day, make sure the refrigerator is ready to go with fresh cakes, switch things like already-made-up (unbaked) coffee cakes and sweet rolls from the freezer to the refrigerator so they’re soft enough to bake in the morning. I have to see that everything is set up for my father and his helpers. They come in at 1:30 a.m. and bake all the coffee cakes, sweet rolls, breads and donuts. They make sure the store is full and that everything is ready by 5 a.m. Then they wait for the girls to come in and start to sell. Once they’ve finished that, they prepare for the next day. They’ll do things like make up coffee cakes and put the (unbaked) coffee cakes in the freezer. Coffee cakes are made one day in advance, then baked the same morning they’re put out for sale. Donuts are all made from fresh batter every day.
What’s the best thing about the job?
Satisfying customers; having them leave happy. For example, when I do birthday cakes, I do drawings. And when kids see their cake and love it, I know I just made their day. Especially seeing kids happy, that makes it all worthwhile. I spend a lot of hours here and when customers leave happy it really makes me feel proud!
What’s the worst thing?
That’s a tough question. The thing I like least is working with salesmen. They’re nice people, but when I’m in the middle of something and have to stop to think about ordering, it drives me crazy. That I could do without.
What three attributes are essential to doing your job well?
For someone working in a small shop like this, I think the most important thing is the sense of responsibility just to be here. Because if someone doesn’t show up, it’s a huge problem. Second is the willingness to work long hours and night hours. And third is the desire to do quality work. I have a couple of younger guys here, and I tell them they have to remember to make the product look like something they’re going to eat. I tell them if they’re going to put something in the store, they should make sure it’s right. I’d rather throw it in the garbage than try to sneak something by and hope nobody will notice.
Where will you go from here?
Expansion isn’t really possible because there’s not much room to go (in this space). So I’m going to keep doing what we’re doing, stick with this business. One of these days my father will retire and my main concern will be to find a reliable person to run things at night.
What advice would you give to people interested in this field?
If you want to be a baker in a traditional, family-style bakery I’d say get your foot in the door by working at one to see how they run the business. To be an owner, I’d say be prepared to work a lot of hours and have a lot of headaches. But in the long-run, it’s worth it.
———-
E-mail tribjobs@tribune.com
