Beginner Grocery Store Cake Decorator
Decorating By stefkovic Updated 28 Feb 2009 , 3:54am by -K8memphis
I have recently started at a grocery store as part time decorator. I have about 4 months experience including my Wilton decorating courses, but this is my first job in a commerical bakery. I know the basics and learning more as I go. I think I am not as fast as they want me to be, I know I will get faster over time but my question is, how many cake should I be getting finished in a hour? Just basic design-shell borders and 3 open roses or wild rose w/ buds and leaves or 3 balloons w/ confetti streamers. My first day-8 hours- I completed 27 cakes- (7) 1/8 sheet size, (
single 8' rounds, (12) 1/4 sheet- iced and decorated with the stores standard designs-5 different designs in all. Thanks for any advise.
Hi and Welcome to CC, stefkovic. 
Decoding CC acronyms:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-2926-.html
Wow, talk about production. 
Can't answer personally, but found these threads for you.
Similar posts:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-600989-.html
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-591780-.html
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-576860-.html
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-585466-.html
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-593353-.html
HTH
Sounds pretty quick to me. How many cakes do they want out of you??? Geezzzzz...
have a look at this
http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-620049.html
theres your target! at least you can churn out the basic cakes, your own ones at home should get even faster too!
xx
I know the other thread about 60 cakes in 6 hours really set the pace eh?! Sheesh...they might as well have a machine do it-check it out on youtube, the computerized cake assembly line!
From my brief experience working for a Kroger bakery, they would if they could!!! Someday a machine will be built that automatically decorates quarter-sheet cakes, trust me!
I just got a mental picture of some futuristic Cake Police grabbing me, taking me to some high court and being told I am "ob-so-lete".
Yeah, I admit it, I think I've seen every Twilight Zone ever made...
ME too!!!!! Every episode. Yes...! "Ob-so-lete....!" *moving to the back corner of the room* help!!!! They are coming...
PS-My favorite episodes are 1) Mr. Beamus 2) the Witchin' Pool 3) the episode where the girl disappears under the bed 4) the hard-to-find episode where the guy finds he has a door to hell in his basement 5) The one where the kid is God 6) and my absolute favorite: the Midnight Sun.... spooky!!!! Do you remember it?
Yup, I'm that 60 cakes in 6 hours gal... and for basic cakes for the case, the standard is 10+ an hour for 1/4s and smaller and 8/hr for 1/2 sheets. For orders, we take our time and do them right, so I can do about 20-25 orders in 6 hours, it depends on how complicated they are!
Good luck, and yeah, do what you can do. Do your best and to hell with the rest! Customers take time, sanitation rules take time, managers and HR people wanting to check on you take time. I work second shift usually, and nobody gives a ()$% about me, so if I have three customers in the night shift, that's a lot... and I rarely ever see managers... and because of that, I'm usually grooving to my ipod (discreetly, mind you) to some jamming 160 beats a minute music because it helps me to stay on track!
Good Luck!
Thats what I meant-there IS a machine that does roses, borders, the works!! Here for example, check out this video:
That is CRAZY!! I wonder what they taste like??? 
It sounds like you are doing well. How long have you worked there? You will get faster. (at least I keep telling myself that! LOL)
So 4 an hour give or take? That's pretty slow for a production type bakery. Are you icing too?
This was my 3rd day. Monday of this week was my first day. But really messed up today, had 7 special orders--did 2 of them wrong, they ordered 1/2 sheets, I did 1/4 sheets. But they wouldn't let me stay to fix my mistake. Had to leave at 2. Said they didn't have the hours. Oh well, I guess I'll see what happens monday. Really bad day!
Oh wow. I thought when you said you had four mouth's experience you meant there--I thought the 'recently started at a grocery' store meant four mouths ago. Oh oh oh, you just started Monday??.
You will catch on--don't worry.
So you do do the icing too huh.
Hey, 27 cakes ain't bad at all for being sucha newby. You're doing great. Just stop and read the tickets really carefully. Dude, mistakes happen to everyone in that environment.
You're trying to get your speed up and you just grabbed the wrong cakes--it totally happens to the best of us!!
Welcome to the sweet sticky world of production work!!! (((hug)))
I came in at 10PM (worked all night) to make the icing and roses before the rest of the crew arrived--we made these huge gloppy ribbon roses with buttercream on a nail and filled up a coupla speed racks full of sheet pans full of all different (straight out of the food color jar) colors of roses.
Well, my ribbon roses on the nail kinda looked like sorry wilted gardenias. I'm still embarrassed about that. 
We'd work 13 - 15 hours straight across on the weekends--Nobody left till all was finished. Oh the agony! I learned how to drive and sleep at the same time...sorta. I didn't last long there. Thank God.
You'll get the hang of everything--give yourself some time you're doing great.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%
