Gardenia- one of Rachel's favorite names and she even thought of naming her kid after her favoirite brand of bread. Whoever came up with this beautiful name for a loaf of bread must be a genius! *lol*
Well Nathan's enrichment school organised a Gardenia factory visit during the school holidays and we grabbed the opportunity to visit our favourite brand of bread! The drive was long and our nose led us right to the door steps of the delivery factory! Ever stepped in a bakery where the aroma of freshly baked bread overwhelms you? Well imagine the olfaction intensity tripling or quadrupling.. even your hair will have this wonderful scent of bread! I wound down the windows and let our noses lead the way...
It was the first time we visited a bread factory and that visit left me with a deep appreciation for the workers working at the factory and making sure that the loaves of wonderfully baked breads are delivered fresh daily. According to the organiser, 200,000 breads are baked every day and freshness guaranteed. Each loaf has an expiry of 5 days, but for those who stores bread in the freezer, it could last up to a month. In event if customers find that the breads didn't taste as fresh, Gardenia also guarantee exchanges, no question, asked and delivered straight to your home!
Of all the activities Nathan enjoyed the factory most. We saw the entire baking process from fermented dough to baking and cooling followed by bagging. Work conditions wasn't exactly ideal as employees had to battle with the sauna effect of the gigantic ovens. Loaves and loaves of freashly baked breads will sit in a tall cooling tower to 'cool down'. None of the breads will go to waste. Debris and crumbs collected are sent to the zoo each day to feed the animals. . Lol the ah mengs too enjoy wholesome goodness of the fresh bakes each day!
Such an enriching experience! Our appreciation for the loaf enhanced and next time we are certain that there wont be any wastage!
