OXNARD : Kids Get Tasty Introduction to Bakery Business

As bakery employees began pouring buckets of granola into a steel barrel, the children touring Oxnard’s Magic Muffin Bakery & Cafe on Thursday backed away from the colossal mixer.

“It’s going to be loud,” said 9-year-old Brittany Adelberg as she covered her ears. “I don’t like loud noises.”

But once employee Doug Evans pushed a button and the drum began to rattle and shake, the students shuffled back. It was no louder than a washing machine.

“Neat,” Brittany said, nodding her head in relief.

The 11 children buzzed through the Pacific Avenue bakery as part of a four-week summer school program organized by the Ocean View School District. This summer, program instructor Yolanda Olivas is exposing her class to different job opportunities and work environments. Along the way, she often squeezes in a plug for learning the basics.

“This all has to do with math,” Olivas said over the racket of the granola mixer. “They use numbers to determine how much of the ingredients go into the mix .”

During their hourlong tour, the children, ages 7 to 11, watched employees package box lunches. They learned about frying burgers and cooking omelets. And they sampled muffins with names like pineapple, blueberry sour cream and chocolate zucchini.

Opened by the Assn. of Retarded Citizens of Ventura County last July, the Magic Muffin Bakery & Cafe trains 21 adults with developmental disabilities how to work in food and customer service. The employees, or “consumer-clients,” who wear burgundy T-shirts and aprons, learn how to bake, wait tables, prepare food and answer phones.

“We try to get them ready for the private sector,” said the facility’s manager, Fran Gill. “When they leave here, they are trained not only in job skills but also social skills so they can work in a regular environment.”

Gill said her employees have landed jobs at Pizza Hut, Blockbuster Video and the Hilton Inn. John Patchett, a 33-year-old employee from Oxnard, said he is shooting for a position in marine biology.

“I want to work with whales and dolphins,” Patchett said.

After the tour of the east Oxnard bakery, which seats 90 people and wholesales to more than a dozen stores, many students said they would consider working at a bakery.

“You get to do a lot of stuff,” Juan Simental, 10, said. “I always help my mom with making cupcakes.”