Mon | May 6, 2024

Food fun at summer baking camp

Published:Thursday | August 8, 2019 | 12:00 AMLatara Boodie/Gleaner Writer
Pastry chefs Shadae Allen (left) and Jhane Palmer.
Students gather around a mixer to learn how to create the perfect dough for their pizza.
Ramona McLean recieves her certificate of completion as part of the first batch of students. Shadae Allen (left) and Jhane Palmer (right) are proud of their young chef.
The first cohort of Bake Me Happy students celebrate their last day of the summer baking camp.
The students were pleased with their ice cream creation and were eager to indulge.
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With summer in full swing, Bake Me Happy has their ovens blazing for their 2019 summer baking camp. Children from ages six to 16 can learn the basic techniques needed to start their culinary journey. With a wide range of desserts as well as savoury delights, Bake Me Happy is proud to be a part of the culinary education of the youth, and looks forward to getting more young and eager students into the kitchen.

Bake Me Happy is not your typical run-of-the-mill baking company. The organisation is run by cousins Jhane Palmer and Shadae Allen, who are passionate culinary creatives. “This is our first batch of students, and the idea came from our aunt Denise Cargill, also known as the ‘Cake Doctor’,” said Palmer. Cargill is known for her infamous baking classes which has given birth to a number of the best Jamaican pastry chefs.

“We know parents are always looking for fun new activities for their children to take part in and this is an exciting creative activity for them to do,” said Allen. Each class, which spans two weeks, include the creation of child-friendly entrées and desserts. Students learn how to make pizza, ice cream, cinnamon rolls and cakes, just to name a few.

With baking in their blood, both chefs grew up seeing and helping their aunt around the kitchen. “We saw her cooking, baking, and it was mandatory that we helped, even if we didn’t want to. I started my training with her, which cemented my formal training at the University of Technology,” said Palmer.

“I just started a couple months and with my craftiness, my aunt encouraged me to do her baking course, which started my passion for this. It has really been good to me and I learnt a lot,” said Allen.

While some were laughing, others were intensely working on perfecting their technique. “They love learning how to cook, and they especially love eating the things that they create. We have to constantly remind them to remember to bring the food home for their parents,” laughed Palmer.

Apart from their summer baking camp, Bake Me Happy offers a baking service which provides unusual dessert cakes. “We do different pastries such as gizzardas, turnovers, birthday cakes, wedding cakes. We can cater for any occasion,” said Allen.

For more information, call 876-844-2501 or 876-294-1597.

latara.boodie@gleanerjm.com