About Marda

A baking educator and consultant on designing, opening, and operating bakeries, I have run the International School of Baking since 1985. In my career, I have worked as a baking consultant in Asia and North America, Europe, Africa and South and Central America.  Students from around the globe now travel to study with me for days or weeks at a time. They come from wartorn countries, wealthy neighborhoods in the U.S., countries with repressive regimes, first and third world countries, and all places in between. After I train these students, I ensure that each and every one is successful by traveling to their home base and guiding them in the design and implementation of bakeries.

 My baking training began in the 1960s and comes from a long tradition of fine European artisan bakers. I spent time in Paris working in pastries in La Mareé, a 3-star restaurant, and in Nice studying chocolates. Thus began a decade’s long career as a baking educator and consultant. In the early 1980s, I opened Breads of France, a European style bakery dubbed “a piece of Paris dropped into Bend, Oregon.” As far as it is known, I brought the first major French bread oven to the USA West Coast.

 After a 4-year stint with Breads of France, I opened the International School of Baking, which I continue operating to this day from a commercial kitchen attached to my home. In the early years of running the school, the US Wheat Associates in Washington, DC retained me to teach bread and pastry baking in China and Inner Mongolia, which turned into a 14-year contract and more than 40 trips to Asia.
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 Today, I bring this background into my baking school and have an in-depth understanding of the baking entrepreneur. My broad exposure to baking in many countries and an ability to translate that experience to different needs that people from diverse cultures bring to my school, sets me apart from other consultants/bakers. Once a student enrolls in the International School of Baking, each course is customized to their specific needs and interests. Students find that I have a creative and resourceful approach to working around the limitations and challenges that these aspiring bakers face in their home countries or cities.

 The International School of Baking trains each student to step into a professional bakery fully prepared, and offers invaluable resources for continued education, inspiration and reference.