Brownie Troop Goes Behind the Scenes at Local Panera Bread

About a dozen girls in Girl Scout Brownie Troop 44 of Westhampton learned about baking, decorated cookies and more during a behind-the-scenes tour of a local restaurant on Thursday afternoon.

The girls explored the kitchen and saw what it was like to bake bread during the free event, which is part of a program at the Panera Bread on Route 58 that teaches kids about what it's like to run a restaurant.

"It's good for them to see the process of baking things," said Panera Chef Supervisor Sabrina Pagan. 

The group of 3rd-graders was led by Brownie leaders Dara Minkin and Karen Donnenson, who said they planned the visit to show the girls a new perspective.

"We're always looking for things to do, and they've never been behind the scenes of a restaurant before so we thought it'd be a good experience," Minkin said.

After finishing the tour, the girls were given smoothies and sugar cookies to decorate with orange sprinkles. 

"It was really awesome," said Ella, 8, of Westhampton Beach. "I liked when we went in the freezer because it was so cold in there." Another Brownie said she didn't know if she'd want to be a baker all the time after seeing how much hard work it took to make the bread.

"I want to be a vet, but maybe my second job could be a baker," said Eva, 8, of Quogue.