January 2024
Lucy rises up career ladder as 2024 student ambassador for global bakery supplier
By Melanie Hall
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A Bakery and Patisserie Technology BSc (Hons) undergraduate on the rise in her career is gearing up to explore Japanese and Korean influences as the 2024 Student Ambassador for a global bakery supplier.
Final year student Lucy Liszewski, who started on a Level 2 Professional Bakery college course before enrolling on the degree, was chosen to work with Dawn Foods as part of an ongoing partnership with the University to support young people entering the bakery industry.
The 22-year-old will be working with Dawn Foods’ Application Chef, Robin Loud, to create new recipes using Dawn’s products, as well as blogs and insights to be featured on the company’s website, trade press and social media platforms.
Applying her university studies
Lucy, who comes from a family of keen home bakers, is inspired by Mary Berry and is a lover of Gordon Ramsay’s desserts. Using seasonal produce and trying to be as sustainable as possible in her baking are important. As for trends, she is excited by Japanese and Korean influences emerging in bakery and is looking to experiment with ingredients such as matcha and yuzu in her creations at Dawn.
“I am delighted to have been selected as Dawn Foods’ Student Ambassador for 2024,” said Lucy. “The opportunity will not only give me practical experience and the chance to get creative with new ideas, but invaluable insight into how my university studies can be applied in the world of commercial bakery.
"I’m particularly interested in finding out more about new product development as a possible future career path.”
“The opportunity will not only give me practical experience and the chance to get creative with new ideas, but invaluable insight into how my university studies can be applied in the world of commercial bakery."
Jacqui Passmore, Marketing Lead West EU and AMEAP at Dawn Foods, said: "Dawn’s partnership with University College Birmingham, now in its sixth year, is a great success story. We can tap into new ideas from the next generation of bakers – we are really excited about Lucy’s interest in Asian flavour influences in bakery, for example – which not only helps with our own product development, but enables us to pass on inspirational insight to our customers too.
"In turn, students really benefit from working with our development chef and seeing how we bring commercial bakery ingredients to market.”
Bakery manufacturer and ingredients supplier Dawn Foods has established itself as one of the top global bakery companies, providing ingredients, bespoke solutions and services to the bakery and foodservice industries.
Headquartered in Jackson, Michigan, and with its UK and Ireland base in Evesham, Worcestershire, Dawn Foods employs more than four thousand people worldwide and partners with more than 40,000 artisanal and retail bakers, food service leaders, and manufacturers located in more than 100 countries. For more information about Dawn Foods, visit www.dawnfoods.com/uk
Where are they now? A few of our graduate success stories
Lucy is among many Bakery and Patisserie Technology BSc (Hons) students and alumni from University College Birmingham who have made their mark in the baking industry:
Rosie Ginday MBE (Miss Macaroon)
Poppy O'Toole (@poppycooks)
Katie Garrett
Will Leet
Megan Roberts
Jessica Dalton
Natalie Brown
- Katie Garrett – 2021 Baking Industry Awards (BIA) Rising Star winner – now a development technologist at British Bakels
- Will Leet – winner of ABST Presidents’ Cup two years in a row and 2021 Baking Industry Awards finalist – now a bakery development technologist for David Wood Foods
- Megan Roberts – 2019 Baking Industry Awards’ Rising Star winner and Le Cordon Bleu's UK Scholarship Award finalist – now a research and development technologist for AB Mauri UK and Ireland
- Jessica Dalton – 2017 Baking Industry Awards Rising Star winner, who has made chocolates for Sophie, Countess of Wessex – now communications secretary for the ABST
- Natalie Brown – Freedom of the Worshipful Company of Bakers award as top student in the UK – now running her own cake business
- Piper Ayres – ABST gold medallist – now a food technology teacher at Christ’s College Finchley
Other former students working at the highest level in bakery and patisserie include Bake Off: The Professionals finalist Bharat Chandegra, who launched XO Patisserie during the Covid-19 lockdown and scored massive business success with his amazing petit gateaux, macaroons and celebration cakes.
Rosie Ginday MBE, founder of award-winning social enterprise and colour matching macaron business Miss Macaroon, and TikTok star Poppy O’Toole – who recently starred in E4's Celeb Cooking School – also learned crucial bakery and patisserie skills studying at the University.
Students are taught by the best too. Bakery and Patisserie Technology BSc (Hons) lecturers have included Dawn Gemmell, winner of the Outstanding Contribution to the Baking Industry award at the Baking Industry Awards.
One of her biggest claims to fame is making a spectacular ‘toybox’ celebration cake for the future king, Prince George – presented to Prince William at University College Birmingham.
Cutting-edge facilities and opportunities
Students on our Bakery and Patisserie Technology BSc (Hons) degree learn in cutting-edge facilities.
These include on-site baking and new product development laboratories with the latest industrial ovens and high-speed mixers and laser volume measuring and dough and flour rheology testing equipment, as well as specialist chocolate production and tempering equipment.
Bakery and patisserie students also get valuable industry experience in the Restaurant at Birmingham College of Food training restaurant and by having their creations sold in the University’s Cakes and Bakes shop.
Placements are also key to standing out on graduation and our employer partners include everyone from Mondelēz and Hyatt Hotels to The Ritz London.
University College Birmingham is renowned for providing specialist vocational training for students looking to enter the culinary industry, with world-class facilities and expert tuition provided on a range of college, undergraduate and postgraduate courses as well as apprenticeships.
Discover our full range of courses within our Birmingham College of Food.
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