Meet Victoria Richard
“I was taught that a true leader in the kitchen will do everything. They’re not opposed to mopping the floor. You go where you need to go. ”
Victoria Richard, swing crew shift lead, Portland
Through ups and downs and even a detour into astrophysics, baking has always felt like home to Victoria Richard, swing shift lead at Portland’s bread production facility. Richard (ree-SHARD) picked up baking from her Italian American grandmother at her home on the south short of Long Island, N.Y. At 14, she started working as a dishwasher in a local seafood restaurant. More kitchen jobs followed; the work was fun and fast paced with lots of variety, and she was good at it.
When it came time for college, she chose astrophysics, following her grandfather’s path. She was miserable, she says. “I was doing crazy math that stressed me out. My lovely mother said, ‘Switch your major. You’ll always be good at science. But you’re a baker. Just go to baking school.’”
Richard wasted no time, enrolling at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, a military grade cooking school with uniforms, all-day classes, and mandatory attendance six days a week. “I had pans thrown at me,” she remembers. “You get all these skills, but it’s hard.”
Graduating in 2016 at the top of her class in Baking and Pastry Arts, Richard landed an internship with New York pastry chef Jacques Torres (“Mr. Chocolate”), then honed her craft in various New York kitchens as head chef, head baker, and executive chef.
Months of living with undiagnosed Crohn’s disease almost took all of it away. “I almost died,” she says. “I had to stop working for one or two years and I had major surgery removing part of my colon.” The disease, a chronic condition that causes inflammation in the digestive tract, is now in remission.
Once she was healthy, she and her fiancé, a glass artist, made plans to move to Portland for the Northwest’s arts and culinary scene. They arrived six months before the COVID-19 outbreak. With most of their plans on hold, she pursued dietary science work from home “until bakeries started reopening and it felt safe to come back.” Last September she started on the Portland swing crew and in late December was promoted to bread production Shift Lead.
What attracted you to Grand Central Bakery? “I’m not gonna lie. I just saw the name, and as a New Yorker, I was sold. I’m glad you have bread as good as New York. I’m a bread snob. We’re very picky – the fact that I take the bread home is a very good sign.”
Favorite Grand Central bread: Potato buns – I think that’s everyone’s favorite. They make such good burgers and chicken sandwiches. But I’m a sucker for sourdough. Probably what I take home the most though are French baguettes. My fiancé and I love charcuterie platters. We make homemade crostini, soup, curries, and they make great sandwiches. I probably bring home at least two baguettes a day.
Typical day on the job: “I come in, I usually meet with Antonio (swing manager) and talk about a game plan. I talk to my team, see where they’re at, then start the day strong and go hard until it’s time to go home.”
Leadership style: I’m fun, I’m easy going, but I’m stern; I won’t let things fly. In New York I used to be a “mean” chef. Especially being a woman, I had to be cutthroat to earn respect.
On being a leader: “I was taught that a true leader in the kitchen will do everything. They’re not opposed to mopping the floor. You go where you need to go.”
Inspiration: “My dad. He passed away when I was a child. He was my best friend. I live to make my mom and dad proud.”
Why she likes baking bread: “It’s the only product that’s alive. You are literally working with something that’s truly alive. The sour starters - I love the smell. You open that container and it’s this little colony, these little organisms just chilling. It’s an entire live product – it’s fascinating. That’s why I love baking – it’s all science, it’s all chemistry.”
Goals: “I work hard because I want to get a house and get married. It feels comfortable to be in a company that allows you to grow.”
Notable teachers and mentors: “Jacques Torres (French pastry chef and famous NY chocolatier) taught me pretty much everything I know about chocolate. The CIA had some instructors who were amazing. One chef had us taste every single ingredient - different types of salt, flours – you would eat them raw to understand the flavors and the science. He was 87, had a strong Austrian accent, and walked very slowly, but if you put a whisk in his hand, he could move around the kitchen faster than any other human. He taught from the basics all the way up.”
Yes, chef: “I was taught to be very perfectionist and cutthroat. (But food) doesn’t need to be perfect, you don’t need to be pristine when you make it, as long as it tastes good and makes someone happy.”
When she’s not working: You’ll find her singing (she’s classically trained), skate dancing, gaming, or hiking / paddleboarding.