The students and staff of the Bowie High School Culinary Arts Program unveil their new bakery at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 9. Bulldog Bakery students will serve freshly baked cake, cookies and coffee, and will offer tours of the renovated space.

Chef Richard Winemiller, who has instructed Bowie students since 1999, said the space is important for students to get experience in an environment that operates as much like a professional kitchen as possible.

The bond-funded renovations expand the previous kitchen space by 500 square feet, creating a designated area for baking and pastry production, and allowing students to develop new skills in a state-of-the-art setting.

“My goal is, and always has been, to give the students exposure to the reality of the culinary industry as they begin their training,” Winemiller said. “The ability to have them work in an industry-standard facility is a large part of that goal.”

Texas One Gas awarded the The Austin Ed Fund $3,750 for equipment and supplies for the Bowie High School Bakery. 

The bakery features steam-injected deck ovens for bread production, along with a steam kettle for cooking custards, ice cream and more. The space also increases the work area for producing pastries and baked goods to serve at community functions. 

Winemiller said the new workspace is not designed or intended to be a retail bakery, but will act as the bakeshop component of the existing facility.

More information is available at bowieculinary.org.