Photo by Trip Burns.
What do a Norwegian cruise ship worker, a baby nurse and a head pastry chef have in common? They are all part of Jennifer Adelsheimer's career path.
These days, Adelsheimer is sticking with cooking as head pastry chef at Broad Street Bakery. A native of Marietta, Ga., Adelsheimer found her way to the Jackson scene in 2010. The 27-year-old pastry chef credits her aunt, Diane Varner, with starting her on the baking journey with recipes for strawberry cake and chocolate chess squares.
Baking pastries isn't the thing only that is second nature to Adelsheimer. While attending Furtah Prep School in 
Acworth, Ga., she played four sports--basketball, volleyball, tennis and softball--and became valedictorian. She says her coach Eugene Fries inspired her.
"(He taught) team ethics and taught me how to be a leader," Adelsheimer says. These days, those qualities enable her to lead a team of a different kind--a cooking team that accomplishes feats such as feeding 3,000 to 3,700 people during last year's Mistletoe Market Preview Gala or keeping up with the recent frenzy for king cakes during Mardi Gras.
With a varied career before entering the bakery world, Adelsheimer has shown she is adaptable. She credits her 102-year-old great-grandmother with instilling in her the resolve to go after what she wants in life. "She's been through the Great Depression ... I think I have that instinct of what she has done," Adelsheimer says of her great-grandmother.
Before landing employment with Broad Street, Adelsheimer worked as a server on a Norwegian cruise ship. The cruise ship was understaffed, so Adelsheimer had to work extended shifts--to the tune of 102 hours. Following the chaotic but educational experience aboard the cruise, Adelsheimer worked as a baby nurse with Happy Baby Solutions, an Atlanta-based agency that provides professional baby nurses and nannies until she decided to attend culinary school in 2009.
Adelsheimer attended Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts School in Atlanta, Ga., where she studied under chef instructor Lisa Fernandez-Glenn. "She was always very firm and never backed down from any challenge as a teacher, but I appreciate the fact that I knew I could always call on her--even now," Adelsheimer says, adding that the school had great, hands-on instructors and excellent networking opportunities. She finished her program in 2010 and, after completing an internship, came straight to Jackson.
Adelsheimer says she loves being a pastry chef because every day is a challenge, and the options are limitless. To see what's cooking in Adelsheimer's kitchen, visit Broad Street Bakery in Banner Hall at 4465 N. Highway 55, Suite 101, or call 601-362-2900.
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