We received this email from a graduate on the occasion of our 10 year anniversary…
Hi Chefs!
How are you? Hope things are good. Congrats on making it ten years! That’s really impressive, but not surprising. You really have developed a fantastic school.
I’ll tell you a bit about what I’ve been up to…
After school, I worked as a baker in Van for a year and then in Montreal at Toqué doing pastry. Currently, I’m in Kaysersberg, France which is located in Alsace-Lorraine. It’s unbelievably beautiful here and there’s an abundance of wine and good food! There’s just something about bread, so I’ve returned to baking and am fortunate to be working for a talented friend of mine. Our products are fresh and local. We use fresh unpasteurized milk. It’s warm when we receive it, that’s how fresh it is! And it tastes so good!
I didn’t realize before coming that it’s extremely uncommon for a women to be a baker in France. Many people are shocked to see me working in the back and I’ve heard of men saying sexist comments about women working in the back. I’ve had none directed at me and hope I don’t encounter any. They’d get an earful from me ;).
In between moving around, I always find myself back in Saskatchewan, often helping my dad with the farm. Surprisingly, I think I will return there after my time in France and am extremely interested in getting into farming. My plans are always changing so we will see. But I think it would be very rewarding to work with the land.
As for what my experience at NWCAV meant to me… EVERYTHING. You helped me to form a solid base and the class that I am so thankful to have been a part of, helped and has continued to help me develop into a much more knowledgeable and strong willed cook. I can’t thank you enough for the experience I had. I can’t imagine my life without attending NWCAV.
Hope things are good back in Van! I plan on making a visit after France. More like multiple visits so I will see you again. Below are a couple of pics of the bakery.
Chow!
Hanna Regier
