AI doesn’t knead and doesn’t watch the oven. It takes on what gets written and calculated once the batch is out: recipe costs, the allergen chart, holiday orders, the ad to find an apprentice.
AI helps bakers with tasks such as “Calculate what a recipe costs to make,” “Prepare the allergen chart,” and “Take holiday orders online.” Start with a single task, in Claude: allow 20 minutes the first time, and always review the result before you use it.
For each task: how it goes today, then with the tool. And the time it takes the first time.
Claude · Excel file, in the conversation
TodayButter and flour go up, the prices in the display case don’t follow, and you no longer know what you make on a croissant.
With ClaudeAn Excel file that gives the production cost and the margin of each piece, and recalculates when a purchase price changes.
Gemini Notebook · A “Spec sheets” notebook
TodayEvery product in the display case needs up-to-date allergens, and a change of margarine or filling is enough to throw everything off.
With Gemini NotebookA draft allergen chart per product, where every mention points to the supplier’s sheet.
Tally · “Create with AI”
TodayYule logs, king cakes, tiered cakes: orders come in by phone, on scraps of paper, and the mistake turns up on December 24.
With TallyAn online order form, where every response is added to a spreadsheet you sort by pickup day.
Also
Canva · “Canva AI”
A shop window poster in your colors, with your own photo, and its square version for social media.
ChatGPT · Voice mode, on your phone
A one-page production sheet the team can follow when you are away.
Claude · Excel file, in the conversation
An Excel file with the need for each ingredient and the quantity to order, net of stock.
Dext · Mobile app, then “AI Assistant”
Invoices photographed the same day, read and filed, which your accountant finds without asking you for them.
ChatGPT · “Chat” mode
An honest ad that describes a real day, and its short version for the shop window.
ChatGPT · “Chat” mode
A reply sent the same day, with two priced options and the questions to ask.
What to check
Energy, rent, and equipment are not in this calculation. Recalculate one recipe by hand before you rely on the file, and have your accountant confirm the VAT rate.
Calculate what a recipe costs to makeClaude · Excel file, in the conversationThe prompt to copy
I am a baker and pastry chef. Give me an Excel file that calculates the production cost of this recipe: [name], for [number] pieces. Ingredients and weights: [flour 10 kg, butter 5 kg, etc.]. Purchase prices excl. tax: [price per kilo or per liter of each ingredient]. Add a row for waste and unsold items, at [5]%, one for packaging, at [amount] per piece, and the production time: [number] minutes of work at €[hourly cost, payroll taxes included] per hour. Calculate per piece the ingredient cost, the labor cost, and the production cost. Compare with my current selling price, €[price] incl. tax, VAT at [rate], and give the margin left per piece. Put the purchase prices in separate cells, keep the formulas visible, and don’t make up any price: leave the cell empty and flag it.
In Nova, “My path” starts from your level: one next step at a time.
The first moves, with free tools.
In your jobWrite the job ad for an apprentice or sales clerk
In your jobFile invoices from the mill and suppliers
In your jobCalculate what a recipe costs to make
In your jobPrepare the allergen chart
For a team: everyone moves forward in their own job. You see the team’s progress, never one person’s activity.
It writes up your recipes when you dictate them, drafts the ad for an apprentice, and prepares the reply to a request for a tiered cake.
Recommended planFree to start. Plus, $20 per month, if you use it every day.
It gives you a real Excel file: what a recipe costs to make, or the ingredient order before a holiday weekend.
Recommended planFree to start. Pro, $20 per month ($17 per month if billed yearly).
The king cake poster, the price labels, and the week’s post, with your own photos.
Recommended planCanva Free, €0: up to 20 AI uses.
An online order form for yule logs, king cakes, and cakes, which fills a spreadsheet instead of a notebook.
Recommended planFree, $0
You upload your suppliers’ spec sheets. It finds an ingredient’s allergens and shows the page.
Recommended planFree: 100 notebooks, 50 sources per notebook, 50 questions per day.
You photograph the mill’s invoice in the bakehouse: the supplier, the amount, and the VAT are entered on their own for your accountant.
Recommended planBusiness subscription, from €25 per month, excl. tax, with a one-year commitment. AI Assistant add-on: €9 per month
Prices taken from the vendors’ official pages, dated on each tool page. These subscriptions are not included in Nova. Brands are named to identify the tools. No affiliation.
Nova recommends 6 to start with: ChatGPT, Claude, Canva, Tally, Gemini Notebook, and Dext. 5 of them can be used for free to get started.
Yes. It writes up your recipes when you dictate them, drafts the ad for an apprentice, and prepares the reply to a request for a tiered cake. The plan to choose: Free to start. Plus, $20 per month, if you use it every day.
With “Calculate what a recipe costs to make,” in Claude (Excel file, in the conversation). Allow 20 minutes the first time. An Excel file that gives the production cost and the margin of each piece, and recalculates when a purchase price changes.
No. Nova is software, not an accredited training provider: it issues no diploma or certification. It costs €19 per month for one person, and €129 per month for a team of up to ten people.