Working at Fort Negen in Amsterdam was an absolute dream come true. Although the bakery is recently new, it has become THE best bakery in Amsterdam and I got to see for myself how it got its name. As a professional and home baker, Fort Negen is a small neighborhood bakery that I thought only existed in my dreams. The bakery believes in only sourcing ingredients from local farms and the many farmers markets Amsterdam has to offer. Every product is made fresh every hour to ensure you receive only the best regardless of when you arrive.
Fort Negen specializes in dark crusted sourdoughs, a variety of pastries and custards. From seeded sourdough to my favorite, glazed apple cinnamon rolls, I was lucky enough to learn all the bakery has to offer. Every morning, I worked a different position. Most of my shifts were on mix, a full adventurous day of mixing and shaping all breads sold inhouse and at all 30+ off site restaurants. We produced 1,000+ different loaves each day. If I wasn’t working hard on mix, I was working the earliest shift, bake. Although mix is a tough position with heavy lifting and following a strict fermentation schedule, bake was the hardest position. The bake shift consisted of baking all breads, pastries and ingredients that went into the products. As soon as you clock in, you are constantly running around making sure you have all the pastries ready for when doors open at 8am. This position required speed, cleanliness and organizational skills. It reminded me a lot like a Saturday night service shift in New York City.
Another position I got to experience was pastry. The pastry position scaled and made all in-house pastries, from cruffins and cookies to the ganache and caramels that filled these products. Everything at the bakery was made with the freshest, organic ingredients. Even things such as fresh fruit purees were made in house, instead of just buying pre-frozen containers from the store. I applied for this internship to learn new skills but working the pastry position at Fort Negen felt a bit like home to me in the best possible way.
The last position I experienced was the reason I applied for the Ment’or Grant, laminations. This was by far my favorite shift to work. The lamination shift consisted of one chef, one table to work on and the sheeter. Laminations also had quite a fast pace schedule. I learned everything from making the doughs to sheeting and rolling all different types of croissants and puff pastries. Since the croissant team only had one chef at a time, this was the skill I had the most hands on experience with. By the end of my stage at Fort Negen, I could successfully say I could have made it through a croissant shift by myself.
Moving to an unknown city by myself was quite a struggle at first: I had to learn a new language and adapt to Amsterdam’s transportation. Even buying groceries at the store was very different from the U.S. Fort Negen brought me in and instantly made me feel like a family. I learned that the Dutch are very warm and loving people. The bakery had a strict 4 days a week schedule that allowed employees to have a more enjoyable life on their days off. Every family meal was eaten together, and at the end of the day, everyone clocked out at the same time and went home. Not one person was left behind.
Fort Negen has a stunning bakery. All stations are set up along the window so no matter what position you work that day, you get to interact with guests who sit along the windows enjoying lovely pastries made by us. I got to experience going to the farm with the team and learning how our flour is made. I was lucky enough to bring a bit of New York to Amsterdam my last weekend of work. Back home, the bakery I work for is famous for their crullers, a fried pâte à choux donut. Fort Negen wanted me to put my creative side to the test and create three flavors that would include what’s in season at the market. With a little bit of testing, I released one sweet, savory and of course a classic. The menu included my very own Cinnamon Sugar, a sweet Peach Pie with Oat Crumble and a savory Tomato and Cheese cruller. Talk about going out with a bang!
I applied for the Ment’or Grant to challenge myself. Although I have experience in pastry, you are never done learning what this profession has to offer. Even though I was enjoying every second of my time there, I couldn't wait to come home and share all the tips and tricks I learned while abroad. Living in Amsterdam was such an amazing experience I will never forget, ending with a surprise engagement from my fiance. From my favorite canal rides to the amazing bar snacks and drinks, this experience and city will forever have a place in my heart. Thank you.
