On Sunday, Dec. 2, the Retail Bakers of America (RBA) will launch the RBA Roadshow at Kendall College in Chicago. Designed to bring bakers, cake decorators, vendors, students and educators together, this one-day event is the first of several regional educational programs planned by the RBA in the coming months.

For more information and to register, visit http://retailbakersofamerica.org/rba-roadshow-chicago-2012.

Kendall College, one of Chicago's top culinary schools, will serve as the location for the Dec. 2 event. The day will begin with bakery tours of three of Chicago's renowned bakeries: Roeser’s Bakery, Delightful Pastries, and Dinkel’s Bakery. A boxed lunch of European-style sandwiches (made by Coupe de Monde de Boulangerie winner, Jory Downer of Bennison’s Bakery) will be provided, along with a vendor showcase running from 11:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.

In conjunction with the lunch/vendor showcase, RBA will offer two tracks of education: one for cake decorating/baking, one for business. The classes will run from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Following the educational portion of the day, RBA and CARBA will host a fabulous networking event (5 p.m. to 8 p.m.) with hors d'oeuvres, charcuterie and crudités made by Kendall College's aspiring chefs. Adult beverages, of course, will be on the menu, too. The day will wrap up in the early evening to give our attendees time to travel home - or to go out on the town. With Michigan Avenue decorated for the holidays, it’ll be a great get-away before the ensuing holiday madness!

Ken Jarosch, president of CARBA, says that Chicago was chosen as the RBA Roadshow launch point in part because, "Chicago is a great bakery town. We have numerous cupcake shops, boutique bakeries and traditional bakeries from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds. CARBA has hosted several conventions over the years and the member bakers gladly welcome any baker into their shops. We are thankful for the very generous use of the Kendall College facilities, providing an ideal setting for the educational seminars, demos and interactions with vendors."

Pricing for the event is as follows:

Flat Fee Price: tours, lunch, education and networking event: $125.
À La Carte Option: tours and lunch - $50; education - $40; networking event - $50.

The à la carte is a great option for bakery owners who would like to bring several employees from their bakeries. As an added bonus for attendees of the RBA Roadshow, both CARBA and RBA will offer half-off annual memberships to those that purchase tickets for the event.