They say that the best things in life are sweet, and senior Reagan Stoldt brightens lives daily with her pastries. What started as a hobby during quarantine turned into a passion that led her to enroll in the Culinary Institute of America for the 2024-2025 school year. When she isn’t at school, she works at Oui Bake, where she perfects her craft in preparation for her future in baking and pastry arts.
Stoldt is a mostly self-taught baker with the help of her grandma’s recipe books. An immigrant from Scotland, Stoldt’s grandma’s recipes consist of many Scottish baked goods. Although the ingredients aren’t measured, leaving Stoldt to estimate the ratios, with much trial and error, the sweets from those books are heartfully cherished. Over the years, Stoldt has perfected her recipe for Scottish shortbread which was sampled at the World Showcase and now is sold at Oui Bake.
Her baking journey started as a hobby to pass the time spent during quarantine for the COVID-19 pandemic. However, her simple hobby would evolve into something that she hopes to pursue for the rest of her life. “I enjoy baking because it is something I can take comfort in,” Stoldt said. “At times it can be stressful, but whenever I finish a pastry there’s always a sense of accomplishment.”
Stoldt’s weekend begins with an early Saturday morning in the bakery at 5 a.m. “While it takes up a lot of my time, I love it; it’s my passion,” Stoldt said. Stoldt has been working at Oui Bake since it opened this past October. Stoldt explained that aside from the usual taking orders and serving customers, she is given complete creative freedom in the kitchen to experiment as she pleases. “The process of throwing things in a mixing bowl and seeing how it turns out is exciting,” Stoldt said, and that excitement makes Oui Bake the perfect job for her.
Oui Bake consists of traditional delights that are mostly gluten and dairy-free, making it a hotspot for those with dietary restrictions. Stoldt explains that those limitations create a difficult yet fun challenge for the bakers. “Vegans usually dont have a lot of options, so when they come to Oui Bake and see that there are multiple different vegan cheeses you see their face light up,” Stoldt said.
Stoldt has had her eye on going to culinary school ever since she started baking during quarantine, which is why when the Culinary Institute of America had an event for rising seniors this past summer, Stoldt booked her flight to New York. Submitting her application in early August, Stoldt received notice the next day that she had been accepted. Stoldt explained that she is excited to meet new people who share the same interests and for the changing seasons, but most importantly, “getting to enjoy the career that I will pursue for my entire life,” Stoldt said.
Stoldt’s dream is to own a bakery or pastry shop somewhere north, truly fulfilling Holy Trinity’s philosophy: start here, go anywhere.
