Shanghai Young Bakers (SYB) Baking Session
Written by: Wong Jia Mein
Everyone eagerly waited for 23rd January, Saturday to arrive, where we tried our hands at baking bread for the very first time. A unique charity event organized by Shanghai Young Bakers (SYB), it combined fund-raising with memorable hands-on experience for the contributors, and this kicked off the first of many upcoming charity events they are planning for the year ahead.
Upon arriving at Caoyang Vocational School, we were received warmly by the organizers who gave a brief insight about SYB to us. Supported by many sponsors, such as Carrefour foundation, students in this programme had their accommodation funded for, and there would be no obligations to the organizations after their graduation. Most importantly, the students engage in an internship with host bakeries, creating an avenue for them to seek employment. Currently, with the growing demand for experienced bakers in the market, this benefits both SYB and bakeries. Such an interesting social entrepreneurship concept!
SYB Bakers with us
Soon after, we were greeted by the cheerful smiles from the students who would be guiding us in the baking process. Being of the same age group as the students themselves, we were able to connect to them immediately and their friendly personalities brightened up the atmosphere. We set out to bake French breads, eagerly mixing the ingredients together. While we listened to the clinking sounds of the mixer beating frantically, the students enthusiastically shared their culinary knowledge with us, details we would not ordinarily know of! It was a very fruitful crash course into the art of baking.
Trying my hand at making French bread!
Once the dough was ready, we meticulously moulded it into regular baguette shapes, hoping to obtain the most perfect shape. Soon, creativity got the better of us and we started designing fanciful shapes such as star-shaped, a Shrek look alike, and even a snowman. Into the oven our art pieces went and not long later, the smell of delicious bread started wafting in and the freshly baked bread emerged to our ‘ooh’s and ‘ahh’s.
One of the SYB Bakers
These French breads that we had a part in making tasted especially wonderful, as we knew that beyond these delicious little goodies, we were helping out these under privileged students. In this process, not only did we do our part for society, but it also opened our eyes to world of social entrepreneurship.
