Claire Zelenka

Claire’s journey to the world of baking began during her childhood as countless hours were spent baking with her mom, making delicious pastries and baked goods from scratch.

That childhood passion carried into adulthood when Claire enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu Chicago and graduated with an Associates of Applied Science in Baking and Patisserie. Claire spent the next few years working multiple positions in the industry before making the big leap to run the bakery department for a coffee shop in Denali National Park in Alaska! She then moved back to the Midwest to work as a cake decorator for a local grocery store where she first learned about Rich Products. Impressed by the knowledgeable bakery techs that came in to teach the staff, Claire took a position at Rich’s as a Technical Counselor when the opportunity arose.

After four years with Rich’s, Claire moved into a position with the sales team in Arkansas, helping with research and assisting in the creation of new and innovative applications. Most recently, Claire relocated back to her hometown as a Technical Team Leader for the Midwest Region.

As a member of the Rich’s family for the past 6 years, she’s excited to combine her love of teaching with her passion for baking, passing that love on to everyone she works with. Each day is a little different, taking her to different stores for hands-on training or spending time with the sales team developing new applications. But the best part of her job? Seeing each employee progress and watching all their hard work pay off, especially when the result is a beautifully crafted frosted rose!