SFBI Faculty and Staff

Our talented faculty and staff are dedicated to providing a comprehensive learning experience that provides rigorous hands-on training while fostering creativity. We deliberately maintain small class sizes to provide our students with the benefits of collaborative learning as well as individualized instruction.

Michel Suas 
President and Founder
Michel Suas is internationally recognized as an industry expert and thought leader, and is a strong advocate of using education to advance the appreciation and craft of artisan baking. The Bread Bakers' Guild of Americaawarded Michel their Golden Baguette in recognition of his enormous contributions to the Guild and the artisan baking industry. The Bread Project named Michel an honorary life member in recognition of his guidance and support.

A native of France, Michel started baking when he was fourteen. In France, Michel trained under several renowned chefs and won two silver medals as a Certified Pastry Chef and Certified Culinary Chef in the national CAP exam. At the age of 21, Michel was named head pastry chef at Barrier's restaurant – at the time it was one of just twelve French restaurants honored with three stars by the Michelin guide. After moving to the United States, Michel founded both the San Francisco Baking Institute and TMB Baking, a top national bakery design consultancy and equipment distributor. Together, SFBI and TMB Baking provide the baking industry with the highest level of education, consulting, and equipment. These services have helped many of the world's best-known bakeries develop operational efficiency and quality production.


Frank Sally
Baking and Pastry Instructor
Frank Sally is a Baking and Pastry Instructor at SFBI. His primary role is to develop and teach a variety of bread, viennoiserie, and pastry classes. Frank is also closely involved in other SFBI activities, including consulting. Frank has always wanted to teach baking, so he jumped at the opportunity to join SFBI in October 2008. Prior to his work at SFBI, Frank worked as Pastry Chef of The Restaurant at Meadowood in St. Helena, CA. Frank has worked in a number of bakeries, restaurants, and hotels in the Bay Area, including Campton Place and Montclair Baking. Frank graduated from the California Culinary Academy Baking and Pastry Arts program in 2003. Frank's interest in food began when he was fifteen years old and living in Boston - he made ice cream for a small neighborhood shop throughout his high school and college years. After graduating from Hamilton College with a BA in Spanish, Frank moved to South America to teach English and coach basketball. Upon returning to the United States, Frank taught high school Spanish and coached a football team at Riordian High School.

Miyuki Togi 
Baking and Pastry Instructor
Miyuki Togi works with SFBI as a bread, viennoiserie, and pastry instructor, and as the production manager for Thorough Bread and Pastry. 

In 2006, Miyuki joined SFBI as an intern. Upon completing her internship, Miyuki was promoted to Assistant Instructor. She is integrally involved in most of the school's activities – ranging from formula and course development to teaching. Miyuki contributed to publishing Advanced Bread and Pastry in a number of ways: she wrote and edited, she created products for photo shoots, and she guided the effort to create an extensive library of video footage for every process of every formula in the book. Miyuki worked with Kate Good, Safa Hamzé, and Mac McConnell to create the enormous bread snail for Slow Food Nation 2008. 

Prior to joining SFBI, Miyuki graduated summa cum laude from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, with a Bachelor's degree in Culinary Arts and an Associate degree in Baking and Pastry Arts. She also studied at DCT Swiss Hotel Management School in Switzerland.Throughout her school years, Miyuki staged at restaurants in Providence, RI, and Boston, MA.

Juliette Lelchuk
Baking and Pastry Instructor
Juliette Lelchuk first came to SFBI in 2004, as a student in the Bread & Pastry Professional Training Program. Shortly after completing the program, she demonstrated artisan bread production at the International Baking Industry Exposition. She then returned to her hometown of Minneapolis and took a position as head baker and pastry assistant at the critically-acclaimed restaurant Auriga, with whom she participated in a feature in Art Culinaire (Issue 79). In 2006, Juliette completed additional training at L'Ecole Lenôtre, near Paris. She then returned to Auriga as Pastry Chef until it closed its doors in early 2007. Immediately after, Juliette returned to SFBI to assist with the final phases of testing and photoshoot production for SFBI's book Advanced Bread and Pastry: a Professional Approach. 

Juliette developed an early passion for food and cooking as a child, and began her first kitchen job immediately upon turning 18. She has worked in a number of restaurants in the Twin Cities, including Porter and Frye, Bewiched Deli, and The Grand Café.


Kate Good
Assistant Instructor
Kate works with SFBI as an assistant instructor. She was previously the head baker for Thorough Bread and Pastry. Kate joined SFBI as an intern in 2007. Upon completing her internship, Kate was promoted to Assistant Instructor. She is involved in many of SFBI's activities, including mentoring interns, developing formulas, and teaching. Kate worked with Miyuki Togi, Safa Hamzé, and Mac McConnell to create the massive bread snail for Slow Food Nation 2008. Before she joined SFBI, Kate graduated summa cum laude from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, with a BS in Baking and Pastry Arts. Kate graduated as a University Honors Scholar and was inducted into both the Alpha Beta Kappa Honor Society and the Golden Quill Honor Society. She studied at the DCT Swiss Hotel Management School in Switzerland, and interned at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa in Farmington, Pennsylvania, and at the Sun Valley Resort, in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Mac McConnell
Baking and Pastry Instructor

Mac McConnell is a bread baking instructor at SFBI. Mac is a graduate of the Professional Training program offered at SFBI. Before returning as an instructor, Mac was the head baker at Berkshire Mountain Bakery in Western Massachusettes. Berkshire Mountain Bakery specializes in highly hydrated whole grain sourdough breads. Mac consults for SFBI in between bread classes and has helped bakeries across North and Central America develop bread formulas and processes.Prior to coming to SFBI to study, Mac worked as a mechanical engineer for Caterpillar. The precise laboratory environment from engineering translates well to baking. Mac enjoys deconstructing the complexities of baking and conveying that information to students.Mac recently taught a Master Class for the Bread Bakers Guild of America