Blog post written by: Ava Edwards

This project is a multi-disciplinary collaboration between the Baking and Pastry Arts Management program and the Digital Business Management BComm program, supervised by Chef Alastair Gray & Hanadi Alnawab. More information about the project can be found on HumberOnline.Solutions project page.

Digital Business Management students

The YesChef.reviews blog was developed by the Digital Business Management students to host the content created by the BAKE 204 class. The BAKE 204 students were added to the website’s dashboard with the role of “Author” where they could write, upload images, edit and publish their own posts. The Digital Business Management students also provided the pasty chefs with instructions on how to use the WordPress dashboard to create, optimize, and publish the content.

Baking & Pastry Arts Management students

Humber’s Baking and Pastry Arts Management program introduces students to various skills and subjects, including the art of a good café experience. The BAKE 204 course, Coffee, Tea and Café Service, studies the intricacies of running a café, from ambiance to menu – and the best way to do this is through hands-on experience.

The BAKE 204 classes of Fall 2022 and Winter 2023 were instructed to go out into the Southern Ontario café-sphere and review a visit from beginning to end. The students recorded every possible detail on the YesChef.reviews website, from arrival to presentation to how quickly an order was taken. From the obvious, like customer service and food quality, to bathrooms and building exteriors, the students became hyperaware of how every aspect of a café contributes to customer experience and whether they will return.

Especially as things settle into a new normal post-COVID, customer service and ambiance are vital to businesses like cafés. The treatment from the staff was consistently the most crucial factor in the students’ ratings. The experience is a firm reminder that although the quality of coffee beans and tea leaves and the food served are important to running a successful café, customers’ experience with the staff is just as vital.

The Fall 2022 and Winter 2023 student reviews can be found on the YesChef.reviews website, sorted by the geographic location for each café.