Harry’s Story – Baker & Production Manager COBS Bread Robson Street
Harry remembers the days when he started work as a bakery at 3 AM. “I did it for a few years,” he recollects. “It’s not bad, it’s just a different lifestyle.” While he still bakes, he is now the Production Manager of COBS Bread Robson Street in Vancouver, BC. “I start at 5:30 AM now. It allows me to spend some time after all of our baking is finished to review production for the upcoming days and adjust as needed for the days to come. We need to make sure we have more than enough of our customer’s favourite products!”
Harry has been with COBS Bread for five years- but that wasn’t when he was first introduced to the company. Having moved to Sydney, Australia for two years after completing his Diploma in Commercial Cookery with a pastry specialization in India, Harry was hired to work at Bakers Delight- COBS Bread’s parent company. “I received a lot of great baking experience there,” says Harry. It was a natural fit, given his education at home. When Harry moved to Vancouver in 2013, he applied to work at COBS Bread.
Harry started out at the West Broadway bakery, one of COBS Bread’s corporate locations. After working there for a short while, the Area Manager introduced him to the franchisee of the Davie Street bakery, Brinder Bains. Brinder saw Harry’s talent and hired him to work at her bakery on Davie Street, where he stayed and worked for almost three years as a head baker.
A few years later, Brinder, who had already purchased her second COBS Bread bakery on West 4th, purchased her third on Robson Street, also in Vancouver’s West End. (She is one of three of COBS Bread’s operators to own three bakeries!) As the Production Manager of the bakery, he is responsible for overseeing the baking to ensure the quality of the product is at its best and for training new bakers.
Harry says he enjoys the schedule, and the responsibility that comes with being Production Manager. In the summer, the schedule is ideal- getting into work early allows him to leave early, hit the gym, and then head to the beach. (If you’re not familiar with the West End of Vancouver which is where the Robson Street bakery is located, the beach is only blocks away!)
“My goal is to own my own COBS Bread bakery one day,” says Harry. He’s on the right path, and we look forward to hearing more from Harry over the next few years as his future unfolds.