At the Mid-Coast School of Technology, the sweet scent of proofing dough and melting chocolate isn’t just a byproduct of a classroom project, it’s the aroma of a high-value professional career in the making. In a state where only two schools offer a comprehensive two-year baking and pastry program, MCST has delivered a training platform that rivals elite culinary institutes across the country.
Leading the Baking & Pastry charge is Steven Watts, a veteran of the industry who spent 27 years owning and operating beloved local institutions like Sweet Sensations and Three Dogs Cafe in Rockport. After nearly three decades in the trenches of the hospitality world—from big resort hotels to boutique bakeries—his transition to teaching felt like a natural evolution.
“I always joked that as I got older, I was going to teach,” Watts said. “It was time for a change. I wanted to show students that baking is a real profession. It’s not just about baking chocolate chip cookies; there’s so much more to it.”
The kitchen, he explains, is a laboratory. Students move quickly beyond the basics to master the technical complexities of pastry arts, from the physics of laminated dough to the economics of a commercial bakery.
The program, which Watts fondly describes as an “edible art class,” pushes students far beyond the basics. While they master the fundamentals of breads, cakes, and pies using the industry-standard textbook On Baking, the real magic happens through the advanced techniques practiced in the program’s commercial kitchen.
Students don’t just bake; they engineer. Using modeling chocolate made from scratch and copper wire armatures, they create towering centerpieces for the school’s Osprey Nest Café, a public-facing restaurant where students gain live service experience. Recent projects include a 100-pound chocolate castle, hyper-realistic “imposter” desserts (think: dessert nachos), intricate wedding cakes, and decorative cakes sculpted to resemble purses and handbags.
Located in Rockland, MCST hosts students from secondary schools across Region 8, serving eight primary high schools representing 21 municipalities. The school functions as a high-tech incubator for the Mid-Coast’s next generation of builders, healers, creators, and trade specialists by preparing students for immediate entry into the workforce or post-secondary education.
The school was founded in 1973 and moved into a sprawling 91,000-square-foot training facility in 2019. The campus features fully functional, professional-grade labs for each commercial discipline. Enrollment now averages 150 students each year.
High Standards, High Rewards
Getting into the Baking & Pastry program is no easy feat. Prospective students undergo a rigorous shadowing process, spending a full day in the commercial kitchen, followed by interviews and self-assessments. Out of dozens of applicants, only a small cohort of 10 to 11 students is accepted each year. For the 2025/2026 school year, enrollment includes 10 first-year students and six second-year students.
Once admitted, the expectations are professional grade. Watts’s classroom policies mirror a real-world workplace with 32 strict rules regarding safety, sanitation, and conduct.
“My bar is set way up here,” said Watts, raising his hand above his head. “But if you have that passion, there is so much opportunity out there for a skilled pastry chef.”
The results speak for themselves. Graduates often head to advanced programs such as Southern Maine Community College, entering their freshman year miles ahead of their peers. Others move directly into the workforce; local restaurants and hotels frequently scout the program for interns and employees.
Cultivating Artistry
For students like Kesryf “Kat” Steeves and Nix Harvey, the program is more than a class—it’s a sanctuary for creativity. Whether they are mastering the temperament of yeast or winning competition gold medals, they are also laying the foundation for a strong work ethic that will serve them in any field.
Steeves said a classroom isn’t defined by four walls and a textbook; it’s found in the heat of an oven, the precision of a timer, and the boundless possibility of a waiting plate. Now finishing her final year, Steeves says that she has discovered that the kitchen is less about following recipes and more about mastering an art form.
The program offered Steeves a transformation that went far beyond the kitchen. She didn’t just learn to bake; she learned to excel at a professional level—a fact proven by her recent gold medal victory at a SkillsUSA state competition for her wedding cake. She noted that the program’s rigorous environment and the doors it opened were the true highlights of her training.
While Steeves has always been drawn to artistic pursuits, the culinary program offered a unique way to merge her creativity with community service. For her, the fulfilling nature of the work comes from the act of giving back through hospitality.
Beyond artistic flair, the program grounded her in essential life skills. While she expected to learn technical methods, she was surprised by how much she now relies on the “soft skills” of the trade in her daily life.
As graduation approaches, Steeves stands at a professional crossroad—though every path leads back to the arts. Whether she continues to master baking or pivots toward graphic design and illustration, the disciplined foundation she built in the kitchen remains a constant.
“I definitely want to stay in an artistic field,” Steeves said. Regardless of where she lands, the gold-medal-winning baker has proven that whether she’s using a whisk or a stylus, her work will always be centered on craft.
For Harvey, the kitchen is a laboratory of flavors and a canvas for self-expression. Rooted in a childhood spent in the kitchen at her great-grandmother’s side, the kitchen isn’t just a place to prep—it’s where her family’s multi-generational heritage meets modern chemistry.
Harvey’s interest in the culinary arts wasn’t accidental; seeking a program that allowed her to escape the confines of a traditional desk and let her creativity flow, she found a home in the kitchen.
At MCST, one of her favorite memories involved a “dessert imposter” challenge, where she transformed sweet ingredients into a convincing plate of desserts that looked exactly like nachos.
“It was really fun, and I was able to let my inventiveness flow and just be me,” Harvey said.
While many find the scientific side of baking—the “chemistry of reactions”—daunting, Harvey approaches it with a unique perspective. She finds a challenge in the very complexities that others might find overwhelming.
“I’ve always been interested in solving problems and figuring out the intricate details of how everything works,” she explained. This analytical mindset is especially useful when she tackles her most difficult challenge: yeast.
“There are so many variables that factor into working with yeast—even the weather plays into it,” Harvey noted. “Trying to figure out the right balance for yeast to be perfect is difficult, but I get there in the end.”
When she isn’t troubleshooting temperamental dough, Harvey finds joy in the versatility of cakes. For her, a cake is a puzzle of layers, fillings, and frostings that she can manipulate to create, as she put it, “anything I desire.”
Though she has spent her time mastering the mysteries of the commercial kitchen, Harvey’s path after graduation will take a surprising, yet equally compassionate, turn. She plans to become a pediatric counselor.
Just as she troubleshoots a temperamental yeast dough by analyzing the humidity in the room, Harvey plans to apply that same analytical empathy to the complexities of the human mind. “My future patients might just benefit from my culinary skills, too,” she noted with a smile.
As MCST continues to evolve within its state-of-the-art facility, the Baking & Pastry program remains a crown jewel—proving daily that with a bit of passion and a high bar for excellence, there truly is a way to turn flour, sugar, and yeast into a flourishing career.
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Ted Hugger is a freelance writer living in Damariscotta. Come summer, he cruises out of Southport Island with his wife and a very spirited Cardigan Welsh corgi aboard their Grand Banks 42.
For More Information:
Mid-Coast School of Technology
1 Main Street
Rockland, ME
www.MCST8.org
Classroom with a Waiting List
The Osprey Nest Café is more than a place for locals to indulge in a gourmet buffet; it’s an employee-hunting ground for the region’s top chefs. It is common for high-end local establishments, such as Primo, to visit the café to scout and offer jobs to students.
The Osprey Nest Café is the live-work laboratory for the school’s Culinary Arts and Baking & Pastry programs. The Café serves as a fully functional, licensed restaurant where students move from theoretical classroom work to high-pressure professional service under the direction of instructors Charles Butler (Culinary) and Steven Watts (Baking).
Here, students from the Culinary Arts and Baking & Pastry programs manage everything from the back of the house as line cooks, prep cooks, and sous chefs to the front of the house, gaining soft skills as hosts, servers, reservation managers, and cashiers.
Located within the Rockland facility, the Osprey Nest features a 118-seat dining room with oversized windows and specialized service stations. The café typically operates as a buffet-style restaurant rather than à la carte, allowing students to master a larger volume of dishes and gain experience in preparing a greater variety of cuisines.
The restaurant employs a “World Café” concept: The menu rotates weekly, focusing on specific global or regional cuisines such as Italian, Mexican, French, Asian, and Northeastern-U.S. fares.
Open to the public for a limited period each April, for a $20 fixed price, patrons enjoy a full buffet featuring approximately 10 unique entrees, side dishes, and salads, as well as a beverage and dessert; a reservation is required. For more about the café, visit mcst8.org/ospreynest/.
Beyond the Kitchen
While the ovens are always hot, MCST’s campus is a hub for 17 on-site trade programs designed to meet the needs of the local economy. Among the offerings are:
■ Automotive & Marine: Auto collision repair, automotive technology, marine technology, and small engine repair
■ Health Sciences: Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and medical science
■ Public Safety: Firefighting and EMT training
■ Hospitality & Culinary Arts: Culinary arts, commercial baking, and hospitality
■ Construction & Engineering: Building trades, pre-engineering, and machine shop
■ Design & Technology:Design technology and introduction to applied technology
■ Natural Resources: Horticulture
Another program, Adult Education & Academic Bridge Through MCST Adult Education, is offered as well and includes workforce development in medical, trades, and business (QuickBooks and MS Office) fields.
Many programs include matriculation agreements with Maine community colleges, allowing students to earn college credit while completing their high school requirements in subjects like Technical Communications, College Composition, and Quantitative Reasoning.
