Pastry expertise at the Hamburg Headquarters

Whether it’s a coffee, a lunch break or a quick chat – the Working Café is the central location at Beiersdorf’s headquarters. Since January, there has been running a very special project: Sandra, a trained pastry chef, bakes fresh pastries on-site every day for all employees. What started as a small idea from her team has become a well-established institution. Sandra is part of the Catering & Event Service team within Employee Services. In this interview, she talks about how her passion for baking has enriched life on campus.

I completed an apprenticeship as a pastry chef at Mövenpick, after which I worked in the pastry and confectionery department at the Four Seasons Hotel for six years. I gained valuable experience there before joining Beiersdorf’s Catering & Event Service team in February 2021.

I initially started at Beiersdorf in the food court, serving meals. Towards the end of last year, my manager suggested that, as I am a trained pastry chef, I could also bake cakes for the Working Café. I started by baking once or twice a week to see how my colleagues would respond. As my cakes were so well received, the project gradually expanded. A room in the basement was converted into a proper kitchen, complete with all the necessary equipment and connections. Since mid-May, I have been baking fresh cakes every day.

Banana bread! At first, I only baked one tray, but now I bake at least two per day. The American cheesecake and our cookies are also personal favourites of mine. We have revised all recipes together with the team to reduce sugar. The team and I are constantly trying new ideas, from vegan and seasonal recipes to current trends like matcha cookies.

I love that I can experiment and try new things. We work on recipes together as a team, testing them and giving each other feedback. It really is a collaborative project. For me, it is wonderful to be able to work in my trained profession again, while feeling the support of the whole team.

Although Sandra bakes the cakes entirely by herself, the project is very much a team effort. Her original team in the food court created a space for her to focus on baking. The kitchen crew provide tips, help test recipes and support her in developing new ideas. Her manager is responsible for sourcing ingredients and calculating costs to ensure fair prices for all employees. Colleagues from the Working Café actively promote the fact that everything is freshly made on site. Even the kitchen apprentices help out from time to time and contribute their own ideas. With the support of many hands in the team, the cake project grows step by step.

Sandra works in the Catering & Event Service team in the Employee Services department. Her team provides colleagues at the Hamburg headquarters with fresh cakes, as well as high-quality meals, snacks and coffee, every day. But that is just a glimpse: Many other Campus Services teams work behind the scenes to ensure the day-to-day work of over 5,000 employees runs smoothly.

The new Campus Services website shines the spotlight on these teams for the first time. Explore the range of services, from logistics to events to health and wellbeing, and get to know the people behind these services.

Discover Campus Services now. Click here to visit the new website.