May 16, 2013

Today I arrived extra early to work because I knew Angie was not going to be there to assist me. When I arrived, a little before eight, there were already two racks of cookies awaiting my arrival. I spent all six hours packaging and sorting cookies. After I completely each task I made sure to check in with Carolina. The biggest challenge I am faced with at the La Duni Baking Studio is the lack of communication. Duni Borga, the owner, has not come in to the Irving office, and therefore I have been paired with her assistant Carolina. Carolina speaks very little English and has a hard time communicating what tasks I need to complete. Everyone working in the kitchen speaks only Spanish. Surprisingly, my Spanish is better then in thought it was. I am able to understand a lot, and can communicate with the chefs when I am faced with a problem, or need to find more packaging or ribbon.

Also, I spend a lot of time alone, and this is helping me reflect on the restaurant business as a whole. I am beginning to see how much organization, paperwork, and numbers it takes to produce a batch of cookies, and make sure they make it to the correct destination fresh and perfect. A successful bakery has a lot of behind the scenes work, and the actual cooking seems to be the lest of anyones concern. La Duni Baking Studio has a lot of hardworking people that all work together to make sure everything goes according to plan.