Dusty started with these bad boys

Charcoal Burger Zen stones. Photo and food styling by Nessie Sharpe @bakingequalslove

Charcoal Burger Buns were one of Dusty’s first products. They’re real pretty to look at, but they aren’t on the menu any more…

Have you ever had to clean up a charcoal spill?

Have you ever had charcoal powder up your nose?

Have you ever gotten charcoal all over your whites?

Yeah, so here is a little Dusty Apron history - and a little of the logic in bakery life. Bakers make what suits them and what works inside their production from a wider perspective at any given time. The bakers out there running big bakeries will all have the ability to put together pretty much any product they want to. BUT it has to work for them, too. The range of products on a baker’s menu says as much about who they are as it does about what their customers are asking for. Food history is generally like that.

 

Charcoal Burger with pickled red onions. Photo and food styling by Nessie Sharpe @bakingequalslove

 

Apprenticeships

We have been thinking a lot about apprenticeships lately.

We’ve had a few and there’s a tonne of changes we’ve made to our thinking.
One thing we’ve started focusing on is videos.

Videos are a great tool for training.
They reduce the need for apprentices to always be under the supervision of a skilled baker who can teach the basics while also problem-solving their mistakes (efficient use of labour and considered wage cost).
They help standardise expectations in our bakery (product consistency and better teamwork).
They support self-directed learning (narrowing your employee pool to motivated learners).
They are translatable resources (opening up to a wider pool of potentially excellent employees).
They support colleagues with visual evidence of why we do things the way we do (easier teamwork).

Here is a video Dusty threw together recently.
It is rough (he’s a busy guy);
It is short and he strives for shorter (the average attention span of the next generation is supposed to be about 3 seconds these days - see my earlier point about motivated learners);
The language is clear (he used ChatGPT to write his script in clear and concise language - (“busy guy”) - so it is very translatable);
He teaches the expected practice correctly for the Dusty way (leading to consistency, quality and efficiency);
He makes one or two points explaining the why. K.I.S.S.

Understanding these points and then asking questions to learn more is how we can grow an Apprentice towards a Senior Baker.

We can’t guarantee that everyone will watch and learn from these videos, but we can promise that the good ones will know how to use them. Those are the bakers to watch.

A video on how we want the team to view and manage waste.

A wastage report is pretty simple at heart (see a recent example here, where training was the solution). This kind of report gives us the information we need to ask the questions that lead to improvements every day. It helps you manage for waste, skill, machine needs, cost efficiencies and more.

Dusty talks more about this kind of decision in his LinkedIn posts - if you’re more interested in the business side, then hunt him down (Dusty the Baker, link in socials buttons below).

Anyone can learn a skill if they commit to trying and if they’re passionate enough about overcoming the struggle. Teaching is next level.

#Perseverance
#Curiosity
#CapableLearners

#knowyourbaker

It’s all ‘back to basics’ in the world of food these days… people want to know where their food is coming from and who exactly is making it. On Instagram, there’s a #knowyourbaker following. So who is Dusty?

photos @nine10seventy

Dusty is Ngati Whatua, Ngapuhi, and Pakeha; based in Auckland, New Zealand. He was raised in in a wrecker’s yard in ‘rewa, which means he knows his car parts and can generally fix it when it breaks. If he can’t fix it, he’ll just push it. He could fill a book with funny stories about the pranks they used to play on each other in his Dad’s yard. Dusty’s dexterity, strength and ability to think outside the box come from that wrecker’s yard. Nevertheless, eight years ago, Dusty gave up cars and moved into the kitchen. He’s been baking bread every day since then and he still loves it.

Dusty’s big passion is the hand-crafted style - traditional breads; grain-to-loaf and everything in between. He loves the long fermentation and the life of the dough. He especially loves working with his hands and doing something that connects him with so many of those who have gone before him. (His Nani-Nani was also a baker and you should totally get him to make you her rewana!).

Actually, Dusty pretty much loves everything about bread except the early starts, so he’s turned that one tiny little negative into a positive and taken up listening to podcasts until Dan comes in at 5 (I’ll introduce you to Dan soon!).

If you want to meet Dusty, you are always welcome in the bakery (doors open at 2am; midnight on a busy day!)

#localfood  #localgrain #knowyourfarmer  #knowyourmiller #smallfoodnotbigfood