On April 22, for the second time during Global Month of Service, more than 20 Starbucks partners (employees) working across departments that lead Princi, an Italian bakery inside the Starbucks Shanghai Roastery, visited SYB and participated in an afternoon of baking, team-building and learning, with 16 of SYB’s 10th batch students. Spending an afternoon with Shanghai Young Bakers was the perfect way to do something meaningful while building strong relationships among the team members.
The group was split into 8 different teams – each consisting of 2 SYB students, 3 Starbucks partners, including 1 Princi baker. The event began with introductions of both SYB and Princi, followed by training on coffee; including brewing methods, blends and flavors. Food pairing considerations were demonstrated through a tasting of freshly-baked Princi almond croissants along with fresh oranges, strawberries, nuts, rosemary and more for SYB students to explore on the “Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel”.
The main attraction of the afternoon was the SYB students teaching and everyone baking together. The recipe of choice was Mexican Bread, a sweet bread topped with coffee glaze made with Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew Italian Roast. Through teamwork, everyone achieved delicious results!
One former SYB graduate, now working at Princi, shared her experience and insights about working as a full time baker, which led to a meaningful exchange between SYB students and a panel of Princi bakers about the opportunities and challenges they face in their work.
Overall it was a wonderful afternoon, where SYB students learned more about coffee culture and Starbucks staff about the art of baking. Most importantly, everyone learned the value of learning, listening and team work.
Thank you, Starbucks for supporting our program!
Martina
Resource Development
