Wilhem Ficquet, a former BYU–Hawaii student from France who recently transferred to BYU–Idaho, earned a professional baking degree in France and said he has made bread and pies for 10 years. His friends said he tries to learn everything about the ingredients he uses and does the same with people he meets.
Tanner Steel, a BYUH alumnus from Oregon, said he learned how to bake from Ficquet. Steel said by learning to become a baker, it has helped him to become more accepting of other people because in baking it is important to know the value of the raw materials bakers use. “Wil treats people the same way he treats the ingredients. He finds out the basics of that person and creates good, lasting relationships.”
The difference between European and American food
Ficquet used one sentence to summarize the secret to being a good baker, “The fewer ingredients you have, the better the food will be.” He said bakers in France would only use four ingredients to make bread: flour, water, yeast, and salt. While people in the United States, he said, include many ingredients such as honey, sugar, eggs, etc.
Another key to baking is patience, said Ficquet. The Europeans devote longer preparation time in order to produce the highest food quality. Ficquet explained the reason it takes two to three days to prepare dough is bakers in France follow very strict steps to put together ingredients.
According to Ficquet, in America people focus on being fast and quick. He made a comparison between the baking culture in France and the United States. “The baker waits after mixing the food so the flavor can be developed. We, [in France], take our time. That’s why the food is better. It is like planting a flower. You need to wait slowly after watering the plants.”
Ficquet said he has been involved with the baking industry since 2009. He finished within a year a professional baking degree from the College of Trade in France. He said he finished so quickly because he already had baking experience.
A hardworking mentality
Steel used the word “service-oriented” to describe his friend and teacher. “[He taught me] the best way to deal with your own problems is to forget yourself and serve. Then you find yourself. He lives that principle really well.”
Charles Teriipaia, a supervisor of the Public Safety Department at BYUH where Ficquet worked for six months, said Ficquet was an employee they relied on because he has a good work attitude.
Advice to students
Ficquet pointed out how in the international culinary industry, when it comes to the top three food countries, they are France, Italy, and China. “If you want to learn how to bake the best bread in the world, learn from the Europeans,” Ficquet said.
Ficquet said he came to BYUH to study exercise and sports science and later left to study professional studies with an emphasis in Chinese, Spanish, and entrepreneurship at BYU–Idaho.
Despite his knowledge in culinary arts, he said his days as a professional baker are over because the pay is too little and the hours are long. Ficquet has been married for three years to his wife, Tracy, who he met in Utah.