Sam Dunaway | News Editor
A new friendly face has arrived at campus this year — the new Campus Dining baker, Maggie Stewart. Stewart can often be found in Valsetz providing delicious cookies, cakes and other pastries for students as well as filling baking requests for catering.
Stewart expressed her enjoyment for cooking and baking for most of her life. “My family is very food-oriented, all of our family gatherings are surrounded by food,” she explained. “Both my mom and my grandma are great cooks and bakers, but baking is what I’ve always really enjoyed … As far as I remember, I knew I was going to go to culinary school to pursue that.”
After gaining knowledge and skills baking for small weddings and birthdays in high school, Stewart went on to a two-year culinary program at Linn-Benton Community College. Since graduating, she’s worked at Big River in Corvallis as a pastry assistant and Crush Wine Bar as a manager.
Stewart is excited for the opportunity to improve campus dining and catering. “Last term and this term I’ve gotten a lot of orders for sheet cakes and celebratory cakes … so I’d really like to, especially for the catering part of things, just kind of amp up what we provide. I know a lot of people were excited about what I made.”
And students that don’t have the occasion to purchase a cake from catering can still enjoy Stewart’s delicious pastries at Valsetz Dining Hall.
When asked why she enjoys baking, Stewart replied, “(I enjoy) the meticulousness of things. Cooking and baking are two different worlds. Cooking is so fast-paced, to order, get things out as fast as possible. But with baking, you get to take your time and you get to put more of your personal touch on things. I really love anything that allows me to be creative and really just making things look pretty is fun. It’s just kind of calming for me getting to bake and then sit and take my time and decorate something.”
Stewart, from the small town of Pendleton, enjoys Western’s small community. “It’s nice that I can see people that I see on a regular basis here — outside of just in Valsetz. I can walk down the street and recognize somebody and it’s just very small and has small town comfort.”
Make sure to greet Stewart and welcome her to the university.
Contact the author at journalnews@wou.edu
Photo by: Paul F. Davis
