January 7 / 4 - 5:30pm EDT

Are you Certifiable? 

All bakers follow a unique learning path, yet necessary foundational skills are essential to a successful profession. The Bread Bakers Guild of America’s Certification Program was created as a tool to both grow and measure core skills.  

Spend some time with recent candidates and judges to understand the process and benefits of challenging yourself to certification. Our next test is just around the corner: March 14-16, 2025, at Johnson & Wales University.  

Panelists include: Anja Curwen CBB, Ben Garcia CBB, Jen Heide CBB, and Rachel Wyman, CBB, CMB and Melina Kelson, CBB, CVB 

Benjamin Garcia, born in Mexico City, where he went to school in pursuit of a career as an architect, but life circumstances did not allow him to continue that path. He moved to the United States at the young age of 17 where he worked in construction in Los Angeles, CA. and then moved to Las Vegas where he journey worked in the kitchen at one of Chef Wolfgang Puck’s restaurants,  Trattoria del Lupo, for 5 years. After that, Ben worked at Bouchon Bistro in Las Vegas, one of Chef Thomas Keller’s restaurants where he became the bakery Sous Chef for 14 years, thanks to the guidance of Chef Chris Herrin. After Bouchon, Ben went to the Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas as the Assistant Executive baker where he worked for two years working alongside talented bakers and chefs. After Covid hit, the opportunity came to work again with Chef Chris Herrin and helped him open Farmstead bakery in St. George, Utah along with Chris Connors and Li Hsun Sun. He is currently the head baker at Farmstead. 

Jen Heide is the Assistant Pastry Chef at the Everglades Club in Palm Beach, Florida. She is a Certified Bread Baker, Certified Executive Pastry Chef, and a Certified Baker.  After graduating from the Florida Culinary Institute, Chef Jen has worked in pastry kitchens for 15 years, developing specialties in bread, viennoiserie, fine pastry, and chocolate- although she is a baker at heart. She enjoys learning and continuing to develop her craft, as well as helping the next generation of bakers and pastry chefs to achieve their goals. 

Rachel Wyman ‘05 is lecturing instructor in baking and pastry arts at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). She is an award-winning lifelong baker, who learned to write her name in buttercream with a pastry bag before she could hold a pencil. She started her career at Bread Alone, during her time as a student at the CIA in Hyde Park, N.Y. After completing her studies, she went on to manage the night production at Amy’s Bread in New York City. After moving to Montclair, NJ with her family, she opened the Montclair Bread Company in 2012. On a whim, she and her staff began frying up doughnuts one morning, and soon Montclair Bread Co. became known as a bread bakery with a doughnut addiction. It was named Best Boutique Bakery for Best of Essex, 2016–2018. In 2021 she published Will Run for Doughnuts: The Montclair Bread Company Cookbook. Among her many accolades, she was named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Bakers in the U.S., in Bake magazine in 2015, and was a finalist on Team USA, at the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie in 2014.  Rachel was featured on the Food Network’s Donut Showdown in 2014,where her tres leches doughnut took home the top prize. She has an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida, in addition to her associate in occupational studies degree from the CIA. (Hyde Park, NY). Rachel is a Certified Master Baker and a Certified Bread Baker.  

Anja Graf-Curwen is a Certified Bread Baker through the Bread Bakers Guild of America, with a deep love for sourdough breads made with locally sourced grains. She started her baking journey at Brimfield Bread Oven, where she has continued to sling dough for the past 6 years. Before working with fires in BBO’s wood fired oven, she was putting them out as a firefighter and EMT. Through life’s twists and turns, Anja found herself drawn to a new career that tied her love of fire and hard work together. Local grains and fresh produce are her passion. Being in a family of farmers and a home gardener herself, she understands the importance and value of including high quality flours, local produce, and sustainable practices in everything she bakes.