The confections in the cases at Edgar’s Bakehouse come In a variety of delectable flavors and styles from soufflé cheesecake and almond croissants to red velvet cakes and pecan toffee cookies and a myriad of choices in between.
All of the sweet treats start first in the imagination of Charlotte Song, executive pastry chef and senior bakery manager for not only the bakehouse, but all the establishments under the Edgar’s Hospitality umbrella, which also includes the Pinnacle Club, Snelling Conference Center, Edgar’s Above Broad, Edgar’s Grille. She also works with the Helms College students who come through her kitchen doors.
“It’s more interesting to build recipes, to build processes and to execute them in the kitchen,” said Song, who has been with Edgar’s for almost two years.
The menu does change not necessarily with the seasons, but according to Song’s inspirations. She likes to explore recipes and get creative with her pastries, cakes and other baked goods.
“I get bored making the same things,” she said.
While Song enjoys being an executive pastry chef, it’s not the career path she first thought she’d follow.
“Originally, I went to school as a biology major. My plan was to go into a STEM field. That is what my family does,” she said.
But she also needed a job to earn income. When a friend told her about a position working in a large banquet kitchen in her hometown of Huntsville, Alabama, she took the opportunity. It gave her both the chance to explore a career field she’d never considered and get a paycheck.
In that kitchen, she learned about large scale food operations as well as learning cake making at making wedding cakes. She laughs and shakes her head when she looks back on some of those early wedding cakes because she still had much to learn on the decorating side, she said.
That job in the Huntsville, Alabama kitchen prompted her to attend Culinard, a culinary school in Birmingham, Alabama, which has since closed. Two days after graduation, Song was in the Atlanta area for a job at Joli Kobe, a French-Japanese bakery.
Working there she continued under the tutelage of her former dean at Culinard, who recruited her for the position, as well as other well-respected pastry chefs.
“Professionally, my grandfather is the father of all pastry,” she said.
She spent the bulk of her career in Atlanta before coming to Augusta.
James Stiff, Helms College president, knew she would be an asset to the Helms College program.
“When we set out to launch the Baking & Pastry program at Helms College, I knew we needed an exceptional executive pastry chef — someone with both an artisan French Pastry and high-volume bakery production skill set to create a vibrant applied learning environment for our students. This is why I strategically recruited Charlotte Song,” he said.
The work Song does through Edgar’s Hospitality raises money that goes back into helping students receiving their education and job training through Helms.
“That’s one of the things that brought me here — the overall vision,” she said.
She likes to be able to share with students the real-life expectations of working in the industry as well as passing on the things she’s learned as a pastry chef when they rotate through her kitchen as part of the curriculum.
Also, she was impressed with the facilities at Helms College kitchen.
And Stiff said the move has benefited Helms College and its students.
“Charlotte is one reason that Helms College’s School of Hospitality is now ranked among the elite culinary schools in the nation,” he said.
While Song loves what she does, she leaves the baking behind when she goes home at night.
“It’s actually very frustrating to try. Once you get used to the size, the lighting, what’s available in the kitchen, trying to do something at home is annoying. So, if I’m going to do something, I do it at work,” she said.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years and is a Georgia Press Association award winner. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
