Taking the road less traveled to chase her dream
By Liao Wei
2014-11-12
In the eyes of relatives and friends, Wang Lu is off the beaten path.
Wang, a beautiful girl born in the 1980s with an easygoing personality, is a doctoral student in Northeast Normal University in Changchun, capital city of Northeast China’s Jilin province.
What makes her a little different from many other people in her generation is that she is a full-time baker in the city.
"Taking baking as my career was not a decision made on impulse, I love studying diet and I liked everything in the kitchen when I was young," Wang said.
"Everyone, including my grandma, thought that highly-educated people like me should be granted a job with a decent salary. She could not understand why I chose baking after so many years of study in both China and abroad," Wang added.
She said baking was her most important job, and what’s more important, she loves it so much.
Wang Lu graduated from university in 2006 and then went to work as a teacher in Canada. In 2008, she enrolled in George Brown College in Canada for a master’s degree in the baking and pastry arts management program. She studied two baking-related majors there, which she saw as the start of her favorite career.
It was a hard time for her. At the beginning, language was the biggest challenge. All information was written in English, and she had to spend a lot of time catching up with the program schedule.
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Wang Lu leavens dough in the kitchen. [Photo provided to ejilin.gov.cn] |
In addition, Wang had to take a part time job to cover the high tuition of more than 10,000 yuan ($1,633) each year. The accidental scalds and cuts can hardly be avoided. There are still scars on her fingers and arms.
"A professor told us that if you want to be employed by a restaurant in a foreign country, but you cannot speak the language, you could roll up your sleeves and show your scars. These are the emblems of cookers," Wang Lu explained.
This August, Wang Lu returned to Changchun and opened a 400-square-meter Western restaurant. Now she is the boss, but she prefers the title "baker" over "boss" among her eight employees in the popular restaurant.
In order to bake in a clean and hygienic environment, the 32-year-old lady gave up all the cosmetics and ornaments, which are favorites for almost every woman. She tried to ensure the strictest hygienic conditions and provide healthy and safe food for every customer to her restaurant.
Wang Lu gets up at three in the morning to leaven dough. She pursues innovation every day to provide pleasant surprises to guests.
"We make all food with sincerity and integrity. What we make are not works of art but a kind of food art," She said.
She is concerned with how to make the food and how to change people’s view towards a healthier lifestyle. It is also the top priority of her business.
Wang plans to open a Western-style kitchen where people can learn to bake and children can make DIY cakes for fun.
