Baking with Precision: Exploring the World of Professional Baking

When you think about skilled trades, baking might not be the first career that comes to mind. But after spending a day learning from two talented young professional bakers, I can tell you that there is a lot more to baking than following a recipe!

For this episode of Trade Up with Sherry Holmes, in partnership with Skills Canada, I stepped completely outside my comfort zone and into the kitchen at Humber College to explore the world of professional baking.

And let me be honest — I’m not exactly known for my baking skills. In fact, I might be one of the worst bakers in Canada!

So, naturally, I decided to take on the challenge of making a cake worthy of a national competition.

Baking Is a Skilled Trade

 

I quickly learned that professional baking requires many of the same qualities we talk about when we think about skilled trades: precision, patience, problem-solving, creativity and a whole lot of practice.

I was joined by Emma, past Skills Canada National bronze medal winner, and her mentor and coach, Stefanie – two talented bakers who walked me through the process of creating an entremet, a beautiful multi-layered mousse cake.

And this wasn’t your typical “throw everything in a bowl and hope for the best” kind of baking.

Every ingredient had to be carefully measured and weighed. Every layer had a specific purpose, and every step had to be completed correctly before moving on to the next.

One of the biggest differences I learned about professional baking is the importance of consistency. At home, you might measure an ingredient with a cup or spoon and get away with being a little off. In professional baking, everything is weighed on a scale so the result can be replicated every time.

That level of precision really opened my eyes to just how technical baking can be.

 

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Precision, Preparation and Professionalism

 

Another thing that stood out to me was how much preparation goes into professional baking.

Before you even start putting the cake together, everything needs to be organized and ready to go. That’s where mise en place comes in — essentially, having everything in its place before you begin.

As someone who works in construction and renovation, this concept felt very familiar.

You wouldn’t start building a wall without having your materials, measurements and tools ready. Baking is no different. You need a plan, you need to understand the process and you need to have everything prepared before you start.

And yes, keeping things clean is also a big deal!

In a competition environment, presentation and professionalism matter. Your workspace needs to stay clean and organized, and even your apron and appearance can make a difference.

I have to admit, keeping my workspace clean while I was learning was definitely a challenge!

 

Learning the Techniques

 

As we worked through the different components of the cake, I started to understand just how many techniques professional bakers need to master.

We were emulsifying ingredients, creating different textures and carefully building each layer of the dessert. There was a lot of attention to detail involved in every step.

I couldn’t help but compare it to construction.

 

We’re essentially building something from the ground up. You need a solid foundation, you need to get your measurements right and every layer needs to work with the one before it.

At one point, I even found myself comparing leveling the cake to pouring self-leveler on a floor!

The more I learned, the more I realized that baking really is a skilled trade — just a very delicious one.

 

 

From Hobby to Career

 

One of my favourite parts of this experience was hearing Emma talk about how she got into baking.

What started as baking with her mom eventually became something much bigger. She discovered that something she enjoyed doing could actually become a career.

That is one of the things I love most about exploring the skilled trades.

There are so many different paths you can take, and sometimes your career can grow out of something you already love doing.

Whether you’re interested in working in a bakery, becoming a pastry chef, competing at the highest level or eventually running your own business, there are so many opportunities within the baking industry.

That’s exactly why I wanted to make Trade Up with Sherry Holmes with Skills Canada. I want to show just how many exciting opportunities are out there—and introduce you to some of the incredible young people who are already building careers in these industries.

 

My Biggest Takeaway

 

I went into this experience thinking I was going to learn how to bake a cake.

I came away with a much greater appreciation for the skill, discipline and creativity that professional bakers bring to their work.

Baking takes precision. It takes problem-solving. It takes patience. And just like any skilled trade, it takes practice to become really good at it.

And while my cake may not have been quite ready for the National or WorldSkills podium, I definitely learned a few things along the way!

If you’ve ever thought that the skilled trades aren’t for you, I encourage you to look at all the different opportunities that are out there. You might be surprised by what you discover — and you might even find a career in something you already love.

Want to see how my baking adventure turned out? Watch the full Baking episode of Trade Up with Sherry Holmes on my YouTube channel and see if I was able to pull off a competition-worthy creation!

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