London calling!

Hi, my name is Clara and I am a third-year culinary arts student living and working in London on a twelve-week placement.

I am currently working in Paul Rhodes Bakery as an assistant baker and am really enjoying the work so far. However, this was not my initial plan and I had a bit of a rocky start to begin with. When I first started to think about my placement, London came to mind straight away as there is endless options when it comes to finding a job and something for everyone I also thought it was an ideal opportunity to get to experience London properly not to mention I wasn’t a million miles away from home. I knew I wanted to work in a bakery and started the process by applying to many bakeries around London hoping that I would hear from at least one, but it was definitely more difficult than I had thought and I got very little response back. As I was only looking for a twelve-week placement and couldn't start until September I wasn't a priority and the people looking for summer work got first preference. It was also a mistake not going over to London and physically walking into these places with my CV as I think this would have been more effective and showed more enthusiasm. So when I eventually got a job offer I took it up without hesitation.

Sourdough production: Step 1

I arrived in London in early September with a work placement secured in a production kitchen called Pollen and Grace which catered for alternative diets specialising in dairy free, gluten free and vegan. I had been in contact with the head chef throughout the summer over the phone and through email and everything was set for me to start. Unfortunately I had not gotten the chance to go over to London before my start date so I hadn't seen the place that I would be working until two days before I was due to start and this was a mistake as when I went to visit it I realised it was not what I had expected and the work that I would be undertaking was not what i was hoping to be doing. I turned down the job and began to look for a new one, which proved to be a lot easier when I was in the country and able to offer trial days and interviews. I received many job offerings in the first few days and carried out trial days and interviews and found a job by the end of the week as an assistant artisan baker in Paul Rhodes Bakery.

Step 2

Step 3

Having just completed my first month here in London and in the bakery I feel that I am settling into work and into the city life. I am hoping now that I have found my way a bit more here I will get the chance to see and experience all that London has to offer in the next couple of months!

Finished product