the beignets he will sell at Bayou Bakery,
you’ll need a large fryer and the appropriate
hooding system to meet local codes. Also,
large quantities of laminated dough are
made more efficiently and consistently with
a dough sheeter. And the list goes on.
the week, and wholesale is mostly a
24/7 business.”
Left: Quality, consistency and volume are the
cogs that drive the bakery operation at Chef
John Folse & Company.
Right: At Imondi’s Bakery & Cafe, baking,
including a line of wedding cakes, is done in
a 2,600-square-food facility.
“That equipment also needs to be set
up to provide the most efficient working
environment,” Guas says. You can turn
the task over to a kitchen designer, or
do it yourself and save money. “You also
can buy less-expensive, refurbished
equipment,” he adds.
He closed that bakery, and later opened a
1,200-square-foot retail operation in Old
Saybrook. Bruehwiler believes it’s better
to operate a larger bakery. “You can
cross-train your staff, so when someone
doesn’t show up, there’s someone else,
besides you, to do the job.”
culinary-school instructor, opened Chef
Imondi’s Bakery & Cafe in Panama City,
Fla., in 1997. Today, he has two locations,
both retail operations. Baking is done in a
2,600-square-foot facility at one of them.
Location often determines the size of your
operation. Christoph Bruehwiler grew up in
bakeries. His grandparents and his whole
family were involved in bakeries in his native
Switzerland. Although he spent many years
working in hotels, “I always dreamed of
having my own bakery,” he says. He actually
had two of them—Bruehwiler’s, Atlanta,
and Bruehwiler’s Bakery and Cafe, Old
Saybrook, Conn. Both are now closed, and
Bruehwiler has joined the Johnson & Wales
University faculty in the baking and pastry-arts program at the Providence campus.
Help wanted
“A bakery must have a dedicated staff who
can adapt and be quick on their feet,” says
Alisa Raider, who, with her husband, pastry
chef David Raider, ran Chef David’s Gourmet
Pastries in West Bloomfield, Mich., for 3½
years. “They must be dependable, follow
directions, think independently, do what needs
to be done (such as extra cleaning) and ask
the right questions. They must intrinsically
care about the success of the business and
customer satisfaction. The head chef must
first find these staffers, and then, perhaps, fire
those who can’t handle the job.”
“When it comes to employees, I have
good and bad luck with both trained
employees and those without any baking
background,” he says. Although he has
about 20 employees, “I still get my hands
dirty, working 60 to 70 hours a week. We
run two, sometimes three, shifts a day. In the
summer, when it’s so hot, we bake at night.”
Recently, because of a health issue, the
bakery was closed, and David Raider is
continuing his education so that he can
teach baking and pastry arts.
At Chef John Folse & Company, where
Harris has about 20 employees, the
operation is geared to quality, consistency
and volume. Harris is the creative force
behind the products, which are shipped
frozen to customers.
The National Culinary Review | October 2009
18
In Atlanta, Bruehwiler operated an
8,000-square-foot bakery. Some 98%
of his business was retail. “I always
preferred not to do wholesale,” he
explains. “I needed some time off during
Finding the right employees requires due
diligence, most baker/chefs and bakery
owners agree. Charles Imondi, a former
“I couldn’t hire bakers,” he says. “They
would be too set in their ways.” He does
hire people with kitchen and bakery
experience, though. His staff also includes
people who are trained on the job. “We’re
set up to train, and, once trained, people
