For years now, we’d started to notice deteriorations in Shanghai Young Bakers’ baking centre, where the students have their French bakery and pastry classes. Either because of usual wear and tear, or because of some structural defaults that we had not forecasted when we first set it up, problems had started to appear. Fighting mould and chasing scrap stuck in the pipes became a weekly activity…
Fortunately, thanks to a generous sponsorship from Saint-Gobain Foundation, together with the renewed and strengthened support of Solidarity AccorHotels, Shanghai Young Bakers was able to make plans to renovate the baking centre and make sure it would meet the highest professional standards!
This was not an easy task. We had just 6.5 weeks between the end of the 10th batch of students’ practical training on the 9th July, and the arrival of the 11th batch of students on 25th August, to overhaul the whole space.
Luckily, we have a secret weapon in our team. Xiao Jinjin (Flore) has been with SYB longer than any of us, since she was one of the students who joined SYB’s very first batch of trainees in 2009. Today, after having trained in France and served as Pastry Trainer for 4 years, she leads the whole technical aspect of SYB’s social enterprise and operations, and is a key actor in SYB’s long-term sustainability. Xiao Jinjin stepped up to the challenge of taking the lead on the baking centre’s renovation, and in designing a layout that would best fit with our requirements.
We were also very grateful to be supported by Thomas Meron, SYB’s former Program Director who was the one to set up our original training centre. For many months before the summer, together with Xiao Jinjin, they visited various bakery production centres, compared materials, brainstormed designs, compared quotes…
When Saint-Gobain and Accor confirmed their support, at the end of June, based on their work, we were thrilled!
And so, a couple of days after celebrating our 10th Graduation Ceremony, we set out to begin the renovation work…
First, by clearing out all our equipment and tools, which we were able to store in different spaces of the building (making delicious breads and cakes is a big help when it comes to making friends with neighbours!!)
And then… we were ready to start. Bakery teacher Zhang Shuai took on the responsibility of supervising the workers’ progress on a daily basis during the month of July.
By the time August came round, SYB pastry teacher Jin Huizi was spending several hours a day on site, to make sure all progress was going according to plan.
Happily, we received the visit of Saint-Gobain volunteers Zhuang Xinru and Li Jingwen, who were extremely supportive of our work and gave us the kindest praise. They even came donating the Saint-Gobain plaster that we need for our walls.
Xiao Jinjin even commented that plastering a wall was not so different than icing a cake…! There is nothing we cannot learn to do at SYB!!!
As all construction works go, however, the last few days were a hectic madness in trying to finish everything on time, and put on all the finishing touches. Xiao Jinjin and the teachers stayed up until 3am to make sure everything was in order and all the equipment and tools were all set back in time to welcome the new batch of students for their very first day of French bakery training!!
On Monday 27th August, the 11th batch of students had their first day of training, under the direction of Liu Dong (bakery) and Wang Jingyi (pastry), our two new teachers who just came back in June from their one-year training in France!
We still have some adjustments to do – including purchasing and setting up mixers that the British Chamber of Commerce wonderfully fundraised for us at this year’s Gala – but we’re already set for a beautiful year full of growth.
A big thank you to Saint-Gobain, who stepped up with such positive energy at just a moment’s notice, to support our baking centre’s renovation with both consequent funds and material.
We are also incredibly grateful to Solidarity AccorHotels, who have been participating in our baking centre’s operations costs since 2013 (!) and were extremely responsive about our maintenance needs.
Thanks to you, it’s not only this year’s 32 students that will have a wonderful environment to train, but hundreds of marginalised youth, and also clients, supporters, friends, who will be able to learn skills, taste their results, and participate in our social mission.
SYB, go go go!
Cecile Cavoizy
SYB Executive Director