Everyone has been to a bakery. Lately, it seems as though everyone with a knack for knocking out some sourdough is opening a bakery with the hopes of making it big, getting bought out, or being featured on a Tik-tok influencer’s channel.

We’re not them. We might want to make it big or be featured on someone’s  “whatever” channel, but we have no desire to be bought out and we’re not seeking fame. What we are seeking is a loyal, local following whose patronage supports our desire to teach and nurture a student body who desperately need a helping hand, and some recognition of their place as our future leaders and for the brilliance that is their untapped potential.

Baked In will serve as Academy in the Road‘s Baking, Pastry, Patisserie, and Confectionery classroom and learning laboratory. Through a series of eight offerings, each within the confines of a retail, wholesale, and commissary bakeshop, (and their attendant labs and practicums), students will learn the ins and outs of the modern bakeshop. They will learn self-discipline and inner strength through self-discovery and reflection as well as a lot of hard work, and hopefully, what they find to be a lot of fun while building their own skill set, being accountable to their peers and the organization at large, all while making memories that will fundamentally alter their lives and its trajectory and last a lifetime.

The Academy is all about real-life application of learning and skills building, and there is nothing more real-life and fun than the camaraderie one finds while in culinary school or while working in a professional kitchen or restaurant environment. In fact, the combination of “fun” and learning is often what builds and maintains the best positive results for any learner of any discipline in most any age group or demographic. By tapping into this bit of pedagogical “hack”, we not only assist our students with retention and memory, we create a “gift” for their future self where they are more resilient, more positive in thought and action, and more likely to succeed and grow in any discipline or career path.

Now that is a transferable skill!

There is something unique about every restaurant out there. Even chains and multi-unit operations are different from location to location, if only because of their view and audience.

When we speak about our uniqueness, we really want to emphasize one simple fact: we’re actually unique and nobody does what we do or the way we do it.

From our work culture, to our curriculum…right up through our uniforms and recipes…we execute things differently than everyone else. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. We simply apply all that we have learned not to do in food, beverage, education, and all the myriad disciplines we have to touch on to pull this off, and we gleefully and wisely apply it to our every day operations.

At Baked In, we have a desire to serve our community in the best way possible while serving our student body in the best, most efficient and broadly applicable way possible. Academy students need to learn as many techniques and methods possible. Our community needs to be able to depend on us for whatever their bakery needs might be…and we are prepared to make that happen. Stay tuned!

…and I know they would all be mortified if I made anyone feel uncomfortable, put out, less than, or unwelcome in my home or my restaurant. We treat you better than family at Louise. Think of it as if you were on vacation at the most amazing location you can think of, but your attending staff is a guy covered in tattoos, working alongside all of his besties, playing great music, watching great movies, reading great books, and sitting in the room with you while they make the freshest, most amazing hyper-seasonal dinner you can possibly imagine…all made from produce and product that was given the sort of treatment that honors its existence in a meaningful and reverent way.

That’s what Chef Shawn wants to convey, and that’s how Louise would want it. Nothing less…otherwise, what’s the point?