SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A handful of inmates at the East Mesa Reentry Facility in Otay Mesa are learning to bake elaborate pastries and cakes as part of a vocational training program designed to help them secure employment after release.
Edwin Gilmer and Ingel Iniguez are among those who signed up for baking lessons after being booked into the facility last year.
"Cheesecake with fruit on top of it, cream cheese strudels," Gilmer said, describing some of the pastries they've learned to make.
The baking program is giving inmates skills they can use in the outside world, with many discovering talents they never knew they had.
"When they first taught me how to make a rose I was like 'wow' - ever since then I like to be able to decorate the cakes," Iniguez said.
The decorating techniques, while appearing complex, are accessible with proper instruction. "It's not as complicated as you might think. They put it on a swivel, and then you make the middle part and it's all in the hands," Iniguez said.
For Iniguez, the program connects to childhood memories. "Well it seemed very interesting to see how she built cakes, two three tiers high. They looked so nice and it seemed interesting to me to see how you could build and decorate something," he said, recalling how his grandmother used to bake for him as a child.
Baking is one of eight vocational programs offered at the facility to people incarcerated for lower-level offenses. Participants receive hands-on training and nationally recognized certifications that prepare them for employment upon release.
"We're all just people who made mistakes in our lives and are ready to move on," Gilmer said.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Office has expanded these programs over the last decade. Instructors like Irene Cuellar focus not just on skills but on building confidence and community connection.
"Seeing them light up and being able to be creative. I don't know it's nice I get paid but I think I'd do it for free because these guys, it's a pleasure to work with them," Cuellar said.
The baking program requires a minimum six-month commitment. Inmates earn a food handler card and college credit at Southwestern College, which they can apply toward a degree in the future.
"You can see how they walk a little taller. You can see the change in them," Cuellar said.
Both Gilmer and Iniguez have goals after their release, with dreams of opening their own bakeries to provide for their families and build new lives.
