Baking in asia book

Baking in Asia is a 203-page journey of bakery educator Mike Fleming that began with a chance luncheon, which would lead to fulfilling a lifelong ambition of working as a pastry cook onboard the Chinese cruise ship “The Minghua” sailing out of Sydney in 1986.  The challenges of language and limited technical skills of the onboard staff required adaptation and innovation traits the bakery educator used for success in the venture.

The China connection continued when an opportunity arose from a local Chinese entrepreneur in December 1992 to establish two western bakeries in Suzhou and Wuxi. The greenfield start-up was an opportunity to fulfil another bucket list item of going to China and experience the culture. The many challenges associated with a new country, language and culture to teach strangers to bake was to prove such an exciting and rewarding experience.

A career step change was to relocate to Singapore in March of 1993 as the Principal/ Master Trainer of Singapore first professional baking school, “The Baking Industry Training Centre”, at the Prima flour mill site. Mike covers the many varied challenges and opportunities to develop an operational baking centre that would upgrade the local baker’s skills and knowledge. The setup and associated layout of equipment, curriculum, and staff activities was an all-consuming activity over the following five years as the school established its foundations and credentials.