Based in Seattle, The Pastry Project produces baking kits to create scrumptious homemade treats right in the comfort of your home. I had the pleasure of speaking with co-founders Emily Kim and Heather Hodge to hear about their philanthropic brand and how they are making a difference in the lives of aspiring pastry chefs.
Thank you so much for joining us! Please tell us a bit about yourselves.
We’re Emily and Heather, the co-founders of The Pastry Project. Emily comes from a background in policy and as a social impact director and Heather comes from a background as a pastry chef and culinary director. The Pastry Project is a baking and pastry space and learning kitchen. We teach a free baking and pastry training course each year for individuals with barriers to employment and help our graduates get jobs as bakers and pastry cooks. We fund this program through our pastry kits that teach you how to bake fun new pastries at home each month, public pastry classes, and our summer soft serve window.
What was the motivation to start The Pastry Project and why was it so important?
We met while working at an ice cream company whose mission was to make the world a better place. In our time there we worked with various nonprofits and the community during hiring season to place individuals from jobs training programs into entry level positions. We found it was extremely difficult to be able to place anyone without kitchen and pastry experience specifically into a job as an ice cream maker. We started talking about how we could close this opportunity gap. After finding that there were no free baking and pastry training programs available, we decided to write our own curriculum and offer our own free training with job placement assistance.
How does your monthly subscription box work and how does it stand out from other brands?
Our monthly pastry kit subscription is a box shipped straight to your door with the mixes and nonperishable ingredients you need to make a new, unique and delicious pastry at home. They are seasonal, sweet or savory, and always teach new skills, or introduce new ingredients or brands to our customers. These boxes truly make baking more accessible and are such fun family-friendly activities as well. Plus, they directly support our free training program, so when you bake at home you are helping others learn to bake with us each year and start their career in the industry!
How do you choose your monthly recipes?
We focus on different pastry categories each month to make sure things always feel new and different. We might do bread one month, and a pie the next, or a cookie one month and a marshmallow the next! We try to keep our kits feeling seasonal so that you can enjoy and share them with friends and family. For example, during the summer we usually have a kit that calls for ice cream. In the fall we usually have a savory bread or muffin, and we love our December holiday cookie kits. We also like to incorporate new skills into each kit so that you continue to learn new techniques that will help you in your future baking journey.
What you’re doing for aspiring bakers providing free pastry classes is incredible. Tell us about it.
We host an annual free baking and pastry training program for individuals with barriers to employment and then help our graduates find jobs at bakeries and dessert shops. This course begins in January and ends in May each year. Students come to us from various non-profits around the region. They are usually beginners with no professional pastry or food experience so we begin by teaching the very basics. Students learn how to measure and weigh ingredients, they learn about different kitchen tools, how to use baking equipment and how to communicate in the kitchen. Their very first recipe is learning the creaming method and how to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie. As the curriculum progresses, students learn how to make breads, cakes, pies and tarts, and even French patisserie items like cream puffs and eclairs, and of course a two-day croissant intensive. Students also get to practice high volume production once a month as if they were working in a bakery.
We provide students not only with this free training, but also with various stipends to help ensure their success in our program. They receive transit cards, childcare stipends and other needs-based support, as well as a kitchen uniform, shoes, scale and curriculum book.
Is there anything else you would like our readers to know?
The best way to support us is by ordering our pastry kits, booking a class, or visiting our window. We are excited to be opening something new from our space in the fall. Stay tuned!
Get your baking groove on for a good cause and head to https://thepastryproject.co/
