With a binder full of recipes that refuses to divulge more than ingredients and quantities, Thomas Castiello supplies the secret touch that makes all pastry production at MIT possible. Each page, discolored by time and a sugary touch, could only be comprehended by the master himself. Coming from a family of bakers and bakery owners, Tommy lived his younger years surrounded by bulk bags of flour, refrigerators packed with butter, and an array of oven-fresh sweets exuding aromas decadent enough to make you salivate.
Participating in the family business wasn’t so much a choice, but rather, the expectation for Tommy. By 2000, his parents ran six bakery operations with the original just steps away from his front door in Revere, Massachusetts. It was all hands on deck all the time. At the age of eight, Tommy could be found prepping cupcakes, a role that quickly advanced into the realm of more challenging European staples like eclairs and cannolis. When high school came around, despite the distraction of teenage adventures, Tommy’s dedication to the kitchen never wavered. Unlike the average boy his age, he would habitually rise at 3am in order to prepare the bread next door. By the afternoon, Tommy would be back in the bakery, this time helping to decorate the cakes.
During the height of production at all six Castiello Bakeries, 3,000 loaves of bread hit the oven daily and 150 cakes were baked, iced, and decorated every Saturday to keep up with the demand. Each day bled into the next. As soon as one day’s orders and prep work were complete, the task list for the next already needed tending to. Lucky for Tommy, he was unphased by the long and early hours. Although, he couldn’t ignore his growing eagerness to switch up his existing routine.
Tommy followed this aspiration all over the world, from Dunwoody Industrial Institute in Minnesota to an artisan bread and pastry certification course in Switzerland. Upon his return to the Boston area, Tommy toted his new techniques with him as he hopped from bakery to bakery, utilizing every excursion as a chance to collaborate and observe. After the sale of the Castiello Bakery business, his hard work and mindfulness led him to a partnership with Shaws supermarkets. Prior to the popularization of in-store bakeries, Tommy was supplying 14 different locations with their baked goods. Not much later, he made the transition from retail to MIT bringing years of experience and culinary content along with him. Over the last 10 years, Tommy has showcased versatility as MIT’s first scratch baker, seamlessly retrieving and producing a slew of recipes that he’s committed to memory.
So when you bite into the lusciously thick chocolate icing on a slice of Boston cream pie or watch the flaky layers of pastry shed off of a cheese danish, take a moment to send a mental thank you to Tommy. Without him, student’s wouldn’t have access to the exceptional variety of pastries and desserts that make dining at MIT especially sweet.