“Enjoying my studies while engaging in the thing I’m passionate about”

Vicky Littlejohn (42) knew she wanted to be a baker from age three. So when she had to do an internship as part of her pre-university education, she opted for the local bakery, whereas her class mates applied at lawyers and doctors. It was the experience of a lifetime. Vicky: “Wim, the baker, treated me as if I had been on the job for ten years. I could do everything and ask everything. The epitome of talent development and coaching! At the end of the week, I asked him: ‘What do you think? Do I have it in me?’ He then gave me one of the greatest compliments I have ever received. He asked me to come and run his bakery with him the next summer. If he had made me do the dishes the whole week, I probably wouldn’t have opted for this profession. It only goes to show how important some people can be for the life choices you make.” 

Wim taught her another important lesson. “He said: ‘You’ve got the brains and the passion. If you can combine that, you’re unique.’ The question was: how? Since it was kind of expected of me, I went through the motions of visiting a few open days at universities. Quite interesting, but the Bakery School in Wageningen felt spot on for me. At my secondary school, my choice met with some derision. I was a good student and also actively participated in extracurricular activities. In other words, I was a student that teachers had high hopes of, and then I went and chose a vocational education program. I have never had any regrets, though. At the Bakery School, I learned the finer points of the baking métier. In that period, I met many of the people who have been important for my development.”  

Dutch Pastry Team  

“For instance, I did an internship at a baker in Hoensbroek, a long way from home. He had been to university himself and understood he had to give me a variety of tasks to do. He took me everywhere and even involved me in the merger process that his company was going through. I never said no, I wanted to get everything out of my internship. During my second internship, I was introduced to Rudolph van Veen. He had just set up the Dutch Pastry Team, a competition team that makes show pieces out of chocolate, ice cream, and sugar, among other things. He also took me everywhere, and so I built quite a network from a young age. 

And then I got my diploma, so what next? The dean of my secondary school alerted me to Business Studies, at the time quite a new program at Tilburg University. I was going to do courses but mainly carry out practical projects. That appealed to me. I also liked the Tilburg campus, not as massive as at other universities. The only thing I was slightly worried about was whether I would be able to remain active in the baking world. That proved not to be a problem. If we had to do a project, we were often able to fall back on one of my contacts. Moreover, Rudolph asked me to become the secretary of the Pastry Team. I organized everything around the competitions: I booked the plane tickets and saw to it that the machines were in place. And I made sure that our sponsors were happy. In exchange for their contribution, the pastry chefs did demonstrations, for instance. For me that was a great combination: I was able to enjoy my studies while engaging in the thing I’m passionate about.” 

Soon everyone was aware of my predilection for baking

Miss Bakery 

“The program was small-scale. Soon everyone was aware of my predilection for baking. I remember walking down a corridor with my friend when we ran into Bart Vos, who taught Purchasing & Supply Chain Management. ‘Ah, here we have Miss Bakery,’ he said. That name stuck. Years later, that became the name of my own new business. 

Business Studies was an active program that was a good fit for me: easy to understand and practical. I learned how to behave on a team. And we had classes in coaching and presentation. I still benefit a lot from what I learned there.  

I graduated in 2005 and found a job as a manager at the organizational office of the Netherlands Bakery Center (NBC, Nederlands Bakkerij Centrum/Foodbase). My duties included enthusing young people for a career in baking and organizing study trips. One of those trips took us to New York. The participants voiced their concerns about the professional level of the sector. Was enough being done about talent development? Would there still be enough bakers in ten years’ time? I took them to a private pastry school in New York. There we met all types of career switchers who were prepared to pay € 20,000 to become a pastry chef, when we had to work so hard in the Netherlands to generate some well-earned pride among the bakers’ guild.”  

For the love of baking 

“On the way home, we decided we should also have such a school in the Netherlands. That had been my intention all along, of course. At home, we tried to enthuse the trade association, but in the end it did not happen. For the love of the baking profession, I just did it myself, together with two bakery entrepreneurs. I resigned my job and started up Miss Bakery and then set up the Bakery Institute. We offer short as well as long-term programs for professionals and baking enthusiasts alike. The classes are taught by chefs who are able to infect their students with their enthusiasm. In September, the school will celebrate its twelfth anniversary. Because we also train the teachers, the educational level in secondary vocational education has also risen. I am truly proud of that, even though I am no longer actively involved. I was the director for five years and then took a back seat. I’m an initiator at heart. I’m less interested in further professionalizing a start-up. My successor has greatly improved the curriculum.”  

What I had in mind was a bakery that was also a ‘tasting ground’: a place where starting bakers could get a taste of entrepreneurship. 

Getting a taste

“After that, I didn't want to work for a while. We had just moved our young family to Vathorst in Amersfoort. Then a minor inconvenience presented itself: the bread that I always brought from Zaandam was not sold in my area. I tried to get a few colleagues interested in starting up a bake shop in our area but no joy. So I decided to do it myself in a way that would suit me in the long term. What I had in mind was a bakery that was also a ‘tasting ground’: a place where starting bakers could get a taste of entrepreneurship. In that way, I would be doing something for the profession and also for our neighborhood. The focus would be on baking with basic products, so without additives. 

That was the beginning of Proof Bakery. In the first eighteen months, we had an access problem because we were in the new part of the shopping center. When we had gained momentum, Covid hit. Then there were all kinds of other setbacks, problems with ingredients, lack of staff and of course the energy crisis. At times I really wondered what I was doing it for. And not only me, but also the people who worked for me and wanted to start a business of their own. They quite literally saw what problems you can face as an entrepreneur. So when you unexpectedly win an award for the best croissant of the Netherlands, which happened recently, that gives your business a welcome boost.” 

 I invited all key figures who were important for my career to my graduation

Stability

“All in all, more than 60 new enterprises coached by the Bakery Institute were started up. Within Proof, the bakers themselves indicate what they need. It also happened that a participant decided that baking wasn’t for him. Someone else could not take out a loan because of his faith, but very much wanted to strike out on his own. He is now making use of my facilities when I don’t need them. Other bakers are enterprising, but do not necessarily want to become entrepreneurs. They are now in my employment. This benefits me too, because you need a certain stability as a company.  

I like to help people move forward, just as people have often helped me. I was lucky enough to meet the right people at the right time in my career, but I have also worked really hard. People want to help you if you apply yourself and show what you can do. It’s as simple as that. I invited all key figures who were important for my career to my graduation. And of course we celebrated with lots of cake.” 

Date of publication: 5 June 2023  | Photography: Wij  Fotografie, Aysee Photography