Editor's note: This is a series of food related interviews with industry professionals, writers, bloggers, executives, farmers and folks who have made a positive impact on the food cosmos.
Tom Gumpel is currently the Vice President of Bakery Development for Panera Bread. I've worked with Tom for a few years now and for all my time spent in the food industry, Tom is one of the most passionate guys I've ever met. Recently Tom was recognized by Dessert Professional magazine as one of the country’s Top Ten Bread Bakers. Tom is a certified master baker and previously served as associate dean for curriculum and instruction for baking and pastry arts at the CIA. He also received international acclaim when he served as captain of the U.S. Baking Team that captured the grand prize at the prestigious Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie (World Cup of Baking). His success in the competition was featured in People, USA Today, The New York Times and on ABC’s World News Tonight. He also was a member of the 1992 Culinary Olympic team that won a bronze medal at the International Culinary Olympics in Frankfurt, Germany.
Below are a few questions I asked Tom regarding our industry, food trends and the craft of baking.
As a highly visible leader in our industry, what are your thoughts on food trends and the yearly diatribe of articles promoting the next “big thing” in food and bakery, year after year?
This is a great question and my knee jerk answer is that chasing trends serves more of a distraction than it is a solid development model. But thinking through that deeper, I would tell you that trends are often a representation of societal growth and maturity (like a teenager needing to do a lot of crazy, irresponsible stuff in order to grow up into a mature adult). Trends can be defined as” continuations on a theme” and if the next big thing is something within your brand or competency, then have at it.
How difficult is it for someone who has mastered a craft to still be creative, but within constraints. You steward a large baking organization of folks with different skill sets and abilities, but your product is expected to be at consistently high level through out thousands of locations?
Mastering your craft requires discipline, focus and practice. As you may notice, creativity is not a critical component. Where creativity comes into play is in the application of your craft. How you sell yourself and your product takes creativity and passion. Having guidelines is actually more difficult and if you don’t recognize these as very positive challenges, you’re missing the biggest lessons in your career. I see these thousands of bakers as students of baking and eager learners. The goal is presenting them with opportunities to grow and reasons to stay with us. From there, nailing quality becomes more attainable.
What excites you when you look out in the world of product innovation in our industry today?
Two things get me jazzed; first is observing how other business take a piece of Panera into their world. You can either look at this with disdain or consider the ultimate form of flattery for the brand. Secondly is the industry’s move towards cleaner labels and striving for more wholesome foods. This is a direct reflection on the public’s out cry for health and wellness in the food chain. Aside from that, I get excited about watching the growth of non-meat protein alternatives across the supermarket shelves. The things that are being done with soy are amazing!
Everyone has a food guilty pleasure that they may not like to share, what's yours?
Watermelon Sour Patch Gummies
What does the world of baking and bread look 10-15 years from now?
I think it will follow some of the trends we see in restaurants. Wheat flour that is grown regionally (where possible), organic and/or local fruit the norm, and I could see more mom and pop bakeries getting their foothold again. Wherever we will see savory foods excelling and taking an area or region by storm, you will always be seeing passionate bakers, pastry chefs and chocolatiers .New technologies are always on the horizon. We will see chocolate companies use technology to deliver their products in ways never before seen. Flavor companies have only scraped the surface of their capabilities. Being able to extract flavors and colors from any plant will make “all natural” a no-brainer.
