Kristen Perry, bakery and pastry teacher at SRTC
Photo: Kat Szmit
By Kat Szmit
Kristen Perry has been inside the kitchens of Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island and the best bakeries in Boston, but her favorite is the one at the Sanford Regional Technical Center, where Perry is in her first year as the school’s new bakery and pastry teacher. It is also the first year of the program, which was announced roughly a year ago.
Perry, who hails from Wells, previously taught in the baking and pastry program at York County Community College. She worked there twice across different years, between a stint in Boston, and then after opening her own bakery in 2017.
“It worked perfectly because I only taught the spring semester and the bakery at the time was seasonal,” Perry said. “We were closed from Christmas Eve until mid-March. It was perfect to squeeze in teaching.”
Then YCCC did away with its bakery and pastry program in 2021.
“When that program was dissolved, I was really bummed that it was gone,” Perry said. “I really liked that job.”
She was especially concerned for prospective students, knowing there wasn’t another associate’s degree program within easy travel. Perry turned her focus to her bakery, Bake Maine, on Post Road in Wells, but missed teaching. She learned about the SRTC position when a friend posted an article about the technical school creating the bakery and pastry program.
“They hadn’t even posted the job yet,” Perry said. “As soon as the job was posted, I jumped on the website and applied.”
She’d already had positive interactions with SRTC students who later attended the college and was thrilled that the technical school had created a program.
“I love that there’s an outlet for it,” Perry said, noting that the places “nearby” with programs include schools in Boston and New Hampshire. “When YCCC closed, there was nothing. The fact that [SRTC school administrators] saw that there was a need for this and wanted to provide a program for kids to learn it without having to pay for college…is amazing.”
Perry is hoping that by next school year, seniors enrolled in the program will earn dual enrollment. “That way all the seniors taking my class will get four credits in baking and pastry,” she said.
The school year began with the burner on high and several events to cater just weeks into the fall quarter.
“It’s been chaos in the best way,” Perry said. “I have taught sort of the same thing. The same basic curriculum. It’s all the same fundamentals and technique and learning. I have that to fall back on, which has meant an easier transition.”
The students Perry teaches are what it’s about for her.
“That’s the best part. The students are amazing,” she said. “I keep pinching myself like, ‘I know it’s year one here, and you never know, but how am I going to top these kids?’ They’re awesome. I have a great crew.”
Perry is currently learning about upcoming competitions students in culinary arts and baking, and pastry can enter, including Skills USA, which involves a wedding cake feature. Fortunately for Perry, she’s got collaborative support from culinary teacher Jethro Loichle, horticulture teacher Jennifer Coverdale, and many others.
It’s so nice to be in such a warm, welcoming, helpful community,” Perry said.
Perry has had a passion for baking since she was a child. “My grandmother loved to bake everything,” Perry said. “And I have early, early memories of watching ‘The Frugal Gourmet’ and Julia Child. I was the 10-year-old writing recipes down from the show and then going into the kitchen and making them. I was a food nerd from the beginning.”
Even at a young age, Perry was meticulous, setting up her kitchen and her mise en place, with recipe ingredients in their required spots.
“In seventh grade I knew I wanted to go to Johnson & Wales,” Perry said. “I saw an ad for it on TV, and they were making an ice sculpture. I was like, ‘That! I want to do that!”
Perry did earn her degree from Johnson & Wales, but in culinary arts instead of baking and pastry. “When I went, I wanted to do both,” Perry said. When she was told that pursuing such a degree meant six years in school, she opted for culinary arts since it included an annual segment on baking and pastry. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts and a minor in leadership.
And then came a career that included working for the two French master chefs in Boston, where Perry worked for 15 years. “One was Chef Raymond Ost of Sandrine’s in Harvard Square, and the other was Jacky Robert of Petit Robert Bistro,” Perry said.
She also worked at Flour Bakery & Café and Tatte Bakery & Café, two popular bakery chains in the city. And then Perry became a mom.
“Then it was time to come home,” she said.
While Perry teaches, Bake Maine is in excellent hands.
“We have the world’s best staff,” Perry said. “I have a head baker that started with me a year before this job. She has learned everything. She can be me. She’s amazing. And we have another baker to back her up. We have the right staff in place.”
At the helm is Perry’s husband Doug, who runs the shop when Perry is at school.
She was born and raised in Concord, NH, moving to Maine when she was in middle school.
“People spend so much money to vacation here, and we get to live here. It’s pretty amazing,” she said.
While Perry traveled after high school well beyond Maine’s borders, backpacking in Europe and such, home kept calling.
“I’ve seen a lot. I’ve done all the cool stuff,” she said, adding that every adventure infuses her kitchen creations.
Perry said she came back to Maine for one simple reason. “I love it here,” she said. “It’s good to be home.”
The post New Baking and Pastry Teacher Brings Flour Power appeared first on Sanford Springvale News.
