A chat with our production supervisor Maribel Rodriguez about her tenure at Chabaso and what it takes to make great bread.
How long have you been at Chabaso?
MR: 22 years!
What have been some of your responsibilities?
MR: My time at Chabaso has exposed me to all aspects of the baking process. This includes making sure the ingredients going into the bread are high quality, the baking process runs smoothly, and also that we maintain our standards while keeping production flowing at a steady rate, because we make a lot of bread! And of course managing our big team.
What was it like when you first started here?
MR: When I started working at Chabaso, we were in a smaller building a few blocks away from our current location at 360 James. And there were only about 15 employees, compared to the much larger group we have now. My first job was packing the finished breads into bags and boxes. I’d like to mention that it was an amiable and cozy environment to work in.
What are some important aspects of the Chabaso baking process that people might not know about?
MR: A lot of care goes into each step of the baking process. We make sure to give our dough a long time to ferment (20 hours) which helps to give Chabaso breads the great aroma, flavor, color and texture that they’re known for.
What are some of the challenges in getting a team of bakers to create high-quality bread every day?
MR: Every day we face different challenges. For example, employees might need to call out at the last minute, or the weather might fluctuate and affect the baking conditions, or it might happen all in the same day! But no matter what, the production team supports each other to make sure we get the job done.
What’s your favorite Chabaso bread?
MR: One of my favorites is the Rainin’ Grains Ciabatta.
Read more of our Team Talks here.
