Asian Culinary Arts

I attended the VCC Baking & Pastry Arts Program from Sept. 26, 2022 to Dec. 13, 2022. From the very beginning, on Sept. 29, 2022, Baking & Pastry Arts Program Instructor Lisa Ann Wagner talked to me in condescending manner and criticized me for not asking "good questions" during the Baking Theory Class from Monday to Thursday between 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. On Sept. 27, 2022, during a tour at VCC Library, I commented that the librarian looks older than his picture on the VCC website. Instructor Lisa openly called me "mean" immediately.

The water with cleaning and sanitizer solutions at the two cleaning stations is very hot at about 90 degree Celsius. Both Instructor Lisa and Instructor Nichol teach Baking and Pastry Arts students to touch the tart and pie crusts to test for baking doneness. My hands develops callus in less than 6 weeks into this Baking and Pastry Arts Program. Developing callus is the way that our Godly designed body does to protect our skin. Actually, there are better ways to test the baking doneness using a toothpick or a thin long stick, instead of touching the baking products on the cooling rack not too long from coming out of the 350 degree to 400 degree Fahrenheit stack oven.

The oven mitts at VCC Baking Laboratory is a very primitive square-shaped 5 mm (Mili-Meter) thick canvas type of fabric. It is challenging for me to use this type of "Baking Industry Standard" oven mitts without burning my hands and fingers.

Therefore, I brought in my own domestic styled oven mitts on October 10, 2022. However, Instructor Lisa refused to allow me to use my own domestic styled oven mitts, which enclose all my fingers and the whole palm to the middle of my front arms. She insisted that I must use the "Baking Industry Standard" oven mitts.

I never ever receive any support and encouragement from Instructor Lisa at all during the 11 weeks from Sept. 26, 2022 to Dec. 13, 2022. All I heard from her is - "You are too slow. You will never make it in this baking profession. Maybe this baking profession is not for you."

I was astonished on Dec. 6, 2022 Tuesday afternoon while Instructor Lisa taught students in my Baking Class to dip Pretzel in Lye (Chemical cleaning agent) solution in order for the the Pretzel to look shiny and appealing to consumers. I have never been a big fan for Pretzel. From now on, I will never eat a shiny Pretzel in my life time unless I am the baker who makes and bakes it.

I filed a written complaint with Student Services Arbitrator Tanny MARKS on Nov. 7, 2022 with multiple detailed emails against Instructor Lisa, with email copies to Baking and Pastry Arts Program Head Susie Findley. Susie acted presumptuously and responded by filing a Student Conduct Complaint against me, claiming without any evidence that my behavior at the baking class interrupted and interfered with other students learning, which is completely NOT True. Susie also alleged that I am extremely demanding for attention and special treatment. Both Susie and Lisa must feel deep resentment that I criticized Instructor Lisa's teaching at the Baking Class.

I believe that I paid $3,000 of my hard-earned money in tuition to learn baking and pastry arts on Sept. 7, 2022, therefore I deserve, as a customer of Vancouver Community College's Educational Services, to be treated with utmost respect and sincere attention of my educational needs regarding Baking and Pastry Arts. Since I am one of thousands of students who collectively pay for the salary and employment benefits to these Vancouver Community College employees, I have the right to demand these VCC employees to make efforts to meet my unique educational needs.

After talking to Dave Stevenson at Student Judicial Officer on Nov. 15, 2022, I again requested a more protective oven mitts from Susie Findley by email through Dave. Susie delivered the more protective oven mitts to Lisa at baking laboratory #201 on Nov. 22, 2022 Tuesday. However, Lisa chose to withhold this protective oven mitts from me by not telling me about it at all. A few days later, I talked to Dave about when I can get this protective oven mitts. He told me that Susie has already been delivered to my baking laboratory #201. Therefore, I verbally asked Lisa for it on Dec. 1, 2022 Thursday after baking theory class. She said, "It is in the Dry Cabinet. But it is for the whole baking class though." Apparently, Lisa had made a conscious choice to withhold and delay the delivery of this protective oven mitts to me, while she claimed that this protective oven mitts is "for the whole class". As a matter of fact, nobody else in my baking class asks for a more protective oven mitts except me. I am the only student who has made substantial efforts to request it. Lisa's behavior demonstrates her reluctance to accommodate my requests and her attempt not make me feel "special" or give me any "special treatment".

By the way, Lisa called me "ridiculous" when I could not scrape the wooden table of any flour residue using a metal scraper as the way that she demonstrated on Nov. 24, 2022 Thursday. Such tedious scraping of wooden table can be eliminated if metal table top or quarts or granite table top are used in a baking kitchen for baking goodies production.

I personally would not work for any commercial bakeries to bake in a 16 square feet space inside a baking kitchen.

This VCC Baking & Pastry Arts Program follows the Sweat-shop Operation Standard of Commercial Bakeries with paper-thin oven mitts, the requirement to scrape wooden table like a hawk and touch hot baking products with your bare hands and fingers to check baking doneness as well as dip Pretzels in Lye (Chemical Cleaning Agent) solution, expectation to bake in a 16 square feet space in a commercial baking kitchen like a slave, etc.

There are much better ways to learn the arts to make and bake pastries in order to create beautifully looking and delicious tasting baking products. Unless your learning goal is to work as an employee at hourly wage for a commercial bakery, it is better to save your $7,000 tuition to learn it elsewhere, maybe through Youtube videos and a few practical books with picture illustrations.

Vancouver Community College Register Office refused to refund me the graduation ceremony fee and other student services fee. It is such a rip-off.

Therefore, to make things right, I demand that Vancouver Community College to refund me the entire tution $3,000.

City centre at Vancouver Community College is hand-on: skilled trades, cooking, nursing, hairdressing, and so on. Pre-university students more choose Langara and Douglas or BCIT for IT courses. Had a great time here learning auto foundations.