I believe knowing how the oven works is essential before you start baking the bread.
For me, the oven was managing a food business. At the right temperature, it would serve me a firm and consistent bread of learnings. It would lay the foundation for my egg roll business.
I remember my husband and the little ones savouring the juicy masalas of my egg rolls on their fingers. But the craving to give people a taste of my favorite street food multiplied every day. To do that, I would have to learn all the flavors and ingredients of managing a business that would make my egg rolls the talk of the town.
In the search to learn the nitty-gritty of the food business, I found myself standing in front of our favorite eatery, Panera. It had captivated my family’s heart and stomach for years. We were regulars at Panera. But this time, I did not return as a customer.
The non-glamorous job poster outside the glass walls of the cafe caught my eye. I knew right then that Panera would become my experimentation ground. They needed a baker, which sprinkled the flavours of hope in my heart. I would learn the skills that would ease my journey to become an egg roll entrepreneur — skills like managing people, handling commercial-grade equipment, and overcoming obstacles in the food business.
Baking in a commercial kitchen was starkly different from baking at home. The colossal scale at which it operated would kick me out of my household delights. But I knew if my egg rolls were ever to see the light of day, I had to learn how to take them to the masses.
My experience of working at the bakery was like participating in a juggling contest, which I feel all entrepreneurs do when they begin. I was constantly taking up multiple tasks — from thawing to heating to shaping the bread. My team’s support made it easier to juggle between these operations. From baking time to cleaning, I made sure everything was on schedule. I would wake up to my 5 am alarm telling me to get ready for the next 6 to 8 hours. And when bakers didn’t show up at other branches, I filled in for them.
My first introduction to commercial-grade food equipment also took place at Panera. Luck was in my favor because I needed to understand how these machines worked. From sheet trays and kneading machines that would soften the dough — I was learning all the tricks of the trade. I would enter a challenging world that would give me a true picture of how the behind-the-scenes operated.
In the early days of my business, I could see the traces of a process-driven structure that came from Panera. All thanks to the elephantine walk-in freezer that would equip me with the skills needed to manage a large-scale commercial kitchen. It was a 10×10 room, boasting of its gigantic shelfs and below-zero temperatures. I had a sheet filled with the details of how to do everything smoothly inside the freezer. It would equip me with the discipline and meticulousness needed to create an orderly food business.
Among all of this, the breaks were like sugar in sourdough bread — almost non-existent. But running a tight ship meant everything was on schedule. Instead of complaining, I took it as an opportunity to learn the ins and outs of standardization and serving on time. I needed to stay calm and relaxed — I needed to learn. My egg rolls were calling me, and I had to listen through the voice of Panera.
Managing a commercial kitchen wasn’t all hunky-dory. The front of the house shined like a bright sun on a summer morning, but the back was an alley filled with misadventures. Even then, some of my most heartwarming moments were filled with the smiles of my children, who enjoyed the cookies and bread that I frequently took home. To them, I had the best job ever. And sometimes, that was enough to keep me going.
It was my first experience of how a food business was managed at a large scale, and to be honest, I was a little scared. All the aspirin in the world cannot reduce the stress that comes with this job. Exposure to commercial-grade equipment was a turning point that would transform my understanding of the food business.
After 6 months, I knew Panera had given me all I needed to begin my journey. It was time to explore how the hot food stations worked.
