This is the next in our series of educators featured in our Bake Twentyfive issue. Each weekday, we will spotlight a new instructor or educator in the fields of baking, pastry, and chocolate.

One of only a few Certified Master Bakers and a highly respected chef instructor, Melina Kelson-Podolsky teaches the next generation of bakers and pastry chefs how to transform excellent ingredients into artistically delicious expressions.

Her impressive certifications include Certified Master Baker (Retail Bakers of America), Certified Bread Baker (Bread Bakers Guild of America), Certified Executive Pastry Chef (American Culinary Federation), Certified Sous Chef (ACF) and Certified Hospitality Educator (American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute).

Prior to joining Princi Kitchen as operations manager, Kelson-Podolsky worked as an assistant professor of Baking and Pastry Arts at the School of Culinary Arts at Kendall College in Chicago. She has taught for more than 15 years and is an active board member for the Bread Bakers Guild of America.

Her deep commitment to sustainability informs her approach to baking and living. An edible landscape surrounds her wood-fired oven, where she operates a micro bakery, Bootleg Bâtard, just outside of Chicago.