Seven years ago, 12 French expats were bummed they couldn’t find enough good French bakeries, and there were too many poor youth with too few chances to get ahead. So they set up Shanghai Young Bakers (SYB) to fix that.
SYB provides free, certified, bakery training for disadvantaged Chinese young adults aged 17-23. The one-year program empowers students to find stable careers. The graduates get set up for life, with skills beyond professional bakery and pastry training. We got to speak with some students and see the classroom in action before this Saturday’s 12-hour Spinathon fundraiser.
Pastry day in the classroom. Students carefully assemble croquembouches as the teacher looks on.
How are students selected?
To save on resources, SYB partners with NGOs already set up in other provinces to recruit students, chosen by need and motivation. Most candidates have disabled parents, or some have none at all, along with younger siblings that rely on them. If a candidate’s best option for life is to work in a factory and still not make enough to feed his little sister, he’s a good fit for SYB.
At 32 students, SYB is at maximum capacity for it’s current facility. Last year they had over 70 applicants, making for a painful elimination process for everyone involved.
What does the program include?
Over the 12 months, the young bakers get trained with curriculum from the Ecole Français de Boulangerie et de Patisserie d’Aurillac (EFBPA). Teachers are also both SYB and EFBPA graduates, who’ve returned to give back to the program with a full time position.
Students get placed in baking internships in five-star hotels around Shanghai. Employers say SYB students are usually more hard working than the others, and often offer them full time positions at the end of the program.
Each year, a few of the best are selected to fly to France and continue their education at the EFBPA, fully paid for by SYB or their sponsors. Before moving, they first stay another year in Shanghai becoming fluent in French at the Alliance Française while working full time at a bakery.
Who are the students?
The stories that get churned out are impressive, especially as many graduates decide to pay it forward. Zhenghai was a migrant worker at a factory, and two years later was studying in France. He returned to teach a new batch of students at SYB. He also gets bragging rights for baking the best baguette in China, as the recent winner of the regional Lesaffre Cup in the Baguette category.
Tibetan graduate Passang is from a remote village, and she’s now teaching baking skills to blind Tibetans with Braille Without Borders.
From left to right: Zhenghai and Passang (Pictures courtesy of Shanghai Young Bakers).
When we visited their “classroom,” we got to chat with these two bright ruddy boys who had finished their croquembouches before the others.
From left to right: Xiao Zhang and Xiao Li
Xiao Li: “I used to be a farmer back home in Shaanxi. I’ve learnt so much more here than I could back at home. I’m interning at the JW Marriot in People’s Square, and they’re really satisfied with the work I’m doing.”
Xiao Zhang: “My grandma is my only family member. I’ve been working since my third year of middle school, through many different jobs. At some, I had to do a lot of heavy lifting. Then I moved to Shanbei and worked as a railway guard. It wasn’t satisfying and I couldn’t see myself working there forever, so I went back home. Luckily, I heard about this opportunity in Shanghai. I’ve been here for 10 months now, and can really see myself being a baker for the rest of my career.”
Li and Zhang prepping their croquembouches for decoration.
How can you get involved?
SYB runs a number of social enterprise projects. Their bread is for sale at every Jiashan Market and other weekend markets around town. Their Putuo facility also hosts public baking classes, but they always get booked up so you need to reserve ahead. They can also arrange corporate team building events, private catering, personalized cakes, and consulting for new bakeries and cafes. You can learn more about those here. They’ll also deliver these bread and pastry baskets to your home or office.
Coming up are two big events raising funds to help out the young bakers. Saturday’s Spinathon is donating 100% of ticket proceeds to SYB. Their bread and these caramel drizzled croquembouches will be on sale. Then on June 6, there is this second hand book fair and market outside Kulou. Should be good.
You can also volunteer. Their biggest needs are translators, IT troubleshooting, and writing content, but they welcome anyone who wants to contribute whatever skills they have. The simplest way to help is to be an SYB Ambassador, and spread the word about the work they do. Or you can donate. It doesn’t even have to be money. They need everything you can think of to outfit a baking school, from the simplest kitchen supplies to linens for the dorms.
To learn more, check out their very thorough website, or email info@shanghaiyoungbakers.com.
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