Who is Kerry Yacoumis

Who is Kerry Yacoumis

Kerry Yacoumis as a young girl

Hi, my name is Kerry Yacoumis, When I was eight years of age, my friends would want me to bake for them. I would come over for a play then make something. Usually just throwing flour, sugar, eggs, and milk and mix them together, add some sultanas to the batter. Bake, and 15mins later we had some yummy warm snacks to eat.

My brother had also benefited from this as well. He was quite sad that when I moved out of home, that he wouldn’t be my number one taste tester. Often he would be diving into the cake when it was just coming out of the oven, and I hardly ever got a chance to ice the cake. I have always wanted to bake and decorate cakes from a young age!

After finishing high school

Working in at the supermarket bakery since high school and then also in a pub to help save up money to pay for my pre-VOC course in baking, which I started in 1999. I completed my first blocks of the baking trade school. Then was hired by Woolworth’s as a decorator until an apprenticeship in baking came an available bit later that year. I applied for the apprenticeship in baking and was offered a traineeship in retail store operations and an apprenticeship in baking. I thought why not do both!

2001-2002

I was asked by the TAFE (where I did my off the job training) to compete in a team baking competition called Bake skills Australia. Bakeskills is three days of competition. One day baking bread, the second day is baking Cakes and the third day is pastry the last day is doing centrepieces and plated desserts. We competed in Melbourne and Sydney and came second both times. As a team, we won awards for the best-presented teams both years, best damper, chocolate innovation, and the best-baked cheesecake.

Apprenticeship Years 1999-2002

I completed my apprenticeship in 2002 (signed off early). Also completing Certificate III in Retail store operations, which meant I could be a department manager within a store. I had been awarded a few awards from TAFE within my apprenticeship time. The most outstanding student in Vocational baking. The highest achiever secondary pastry module, and the Most outstanding Apprentice in baking 1999-2001.

2003

I enter a solo baking competition called Baking Industry Medal under 24. (now renamed to honour a great baker Sydney J Packham Baking Industry Medal). I had to complete a booklet of questions, which required me to do quite a bit of research. Even going to a flour mill to have a look at their processes and testing unit.

Only four people out of Australia that is named a regional winner and I was a regional winner! I won a 5-day scholarship to Sydney to attend an Industry tour, cocktail night, and the big baking industry awards night to see who would be the national winner.

On the awards night, I was named the winner of the Baking Industry Medal and had won a trip to do a chocolate course in Singapore in 2004! This was my first time going overseas! It was amazing.

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2003

Nick (my hubby) and I brought a bakery called Tasty Bakehouse, in one of South Australia’s seaside suburbs, West Beach.

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2005 and 2008

Our bakery entered some products into the Royal Adelaide Show. We came first in 2005 /2008 for the best sponge, white bread, and second for a vanilla chocolate chip muffin, knot rolls. We have also won the bronze medal for meat pie, traditional pasties, Fruit finger buns, vanilla slice chocolate lamington, decorated gateau, decorated novelty cake.

2008

I had entered the bakery into the small business champion awards and we won the trophy for the best SA Bakery/cake store and I won the Young Champion Entrepreneur for South Australian.

There is another competition I have been entering into called the Australian Baking Industry National Scholarship Awards – named Arthur E Denison Trophy. Where you pick a topic from 4 chosen topics and write a 10-page paper.

I have been a region winner in 2004 and 2018 and have received a certificate of excellence for 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2019 and 2020. I have entered again this year and I wonder if I will receive a phone call in October 2021 to say if I was a regional winner or not???

In the past, I had been a lecturer at the local TAFE (Baking school at an Adult education center), it was only for a short period of time (few years part-time) but due to my business commitments, I had to pull back from teaching there. This is where I found my love for teaching!

Mind you I am not a fan of public speaking though, but to teach someone about any aspect of baking whether it is a technique to problem-solving. Making a range of bakery products from bread to cakes and decorating a product. Even the science aspect of baking, Yes baking is an art of science! If you don’t know how your ingredients work or work together/react with another ingredient you won’t understand why your product is coming out of the oven the way it is. I find it fascinating!

So this is why we have created Tasty Baking Academy.

To educate and inspire the inner baker within you. Whether you are a hobby baker at home or have a small baking/decorating business at home or even if you are a professional trade baker/pastry cook and you just want a refresher and to update your skills and techniques. We plan to have an online course to suit your skill level.

The courses and resources are categorised into three levels. Level 1: Basic, Level 2: Intermediate, and Level 3: Advanced. I would always recommend starting from the basics to ensure you are up-to-date with the current information available.

I look forward to sharing our knowledge and teaching you about baking, cake decorating, and running a small business of your own whether it is a bakery business or a completely different type of industry. Take a look in the education centre, Some of the topics that will be covered are:

How to make bakery products

• Bread
• Cakes
• Sponges
• Biscuits
• Sweet yeast
• Gluten-free products
• Pastry products

How to decorate cakes

• With straight edges
• Smooth and flat tops
• A range of different piping techniques.
• Using different icing mediums buttercream, fresh cream, imitation cream, royal icing just to name a few.
• Fondant cakes
• Buttercream cakes

The ins and outs of running a small business

• Production flow
• Admin processes
• Costing out the products correctly to ensure you are making money
• Hiring employees and onboarding requirements
• HR issues that come with employees