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Many culinary schools offer pastry chef training as an
individual unit of study, offering students a chance to learn
specific skills and techniques for a rewarding pastry chef
career. Graduates of a pastry chef school can find work in
pastry kitchens at a variety of exciting establishments
including hotels, resort, restaurants, clubs, or even running
their own catering business. Pastry chef careers are not
centered around baking and cake decorating; a successful pastry
chef career may include creative menu planning, finishing
desserts, and consulting with clients to create specialty
desserts for upcoming events. From baking simple loaf breads to
mastering the technique of a perfect souffle, formal pastry chef
training at a baking school can lead to a very rewarding and
satisfying career.
What Type of
Pastry Chef Training is Available at a Baking School?
Many baking schools and culinary arts institutes offers a separate pastry chef
training or pastry chef school program, allowing students to focus primarily on
the art of pastry making and baking instead of pursuing a comprehensive cooking
or culinary arts degree. These types of pastry chef training programs offer
intensive hands-on training, workshops, and even group projects where students
learn how to master the art of baking in a contemporary kitchen setting. Pastry
school courses center around menu planning, plating dessert, dessert preparation
technique, and cake decorating. Students are also taught how to create a baking
schedule for commercial kitchens, and take classes on operating their own
catering company or business.
Skills Required
for a Successful Pastry Chef Career
Successful pastry
chef careers begin with formal training at a baking school, pastry school, or
culinary arts institute that require students to have a few essential skills.
Students must be:
-
Detail-oriented and organized
- Patient,
and be able to work confidently under pressure
- Able to
adapt quickly to a fast-paced kitchen environment
- Open to
learning different pastry techniques, cooking styles, and methods
- Able to
work both independently, and in a group setting
- Creative
but also able to perform routine tasks
- Physically
fit and have strong stamina since jobs can be physically demanding
- Able to
communicate with suppliers, vendors, and prospective clients with ease
What Types of
Courses are Offered at Pastry Chef Schools?
Baking schools
offer a variety of programs for students interested in pursuing a pastry chef
career, and many culinary arts institutes also offer degree programs that can
serve as a basis for pastry chef training. The most common programs available at
a pastry school may include:
- Associates
Degree in Applied Science Culinary Arts
- Bachelor of
Arts Degree in Culinary Arts
- Baking and
Pastry Certificate
The most common
courses and classes available at pastry chef schools include:
- Candy
making and chocolate sculpture
- Dough
methods and pastry fillings
- Baking
quick breads, cakes, and cookies
-
International recipes for tartlets, pies, icings, and specialty cakes
- Cake
decorating and sculptured icing
- Plating
dessert and food presentation
- Culinary
theory and technique
- Display
cakes and centerpieces
- Human
resource management
- Nutrition
and food science
- Biology and
physiology (for appropriate menu planning and dietary concerns)
- Food
sanitation
- Catering
basics
Independent
pastry schools may also offer specialized programs such as French Pastry Chef
Training or European Technique. These are often very different from general
education classes, and allow students a chance to learn comprehensive styles,
skills, and applications. Specialized courses here may include puff pastries,
petits fours, tarts and fillings, and how to make perfect
pâte à choux
(cream
puffs).
What Can A Pastry
Chef Career Program Offer?
A
pastry chef career program offers students a chance to learn the fundamentals of
operating a pastry kitchen, along with hands-on training and skill development.
Culinary ability and creativity are important for essential for a successful
pastry chef career, and a high attention to detail ensures that each prospective
pastry chef can develop unique designs and baked goods. A formal pastry chef
school can help students learn how to:
- Oversee and
manage a kitchen
- Produce
large quantities of baked goods
- Understand
how to manipulate recipes
- Decorate
and plate different types and styles of desserts
- Order
supplies for a pastry kitchen
- Keep the
pastry kitchen organized and running efficiently
- Learn how
to implement a variety of pastry making and decorating techniques
A
baking school can help launch a successful pastry chef career, and most offer
classes in a simulation kitchen where students can learn how to work efficiently
and productively in a real-world environment. Instruction from world-class
pastry professionals and teachers also helps students grow and develop their
talents, cooking style, and baking techniques in the field.
What Does Pastry
Chef Training at a Baking School Involve?
Pastry chef
training at a baking school, or through a culinary arts program, requires
students to take part in hands-on training on a daily basis. Classes are held
throughout each day in practice kitchens and in formal classroom settings,
allowing students the opportunity to gain as much direct experience as possible
throughout the semester. Pastry chef training may also include events and
competitions to help students learn how to work under pressure, and gain
experience working in a team-based environment.
Baking schools
also allow students a chance to sample a variety of international pastries,
baked goods, and foods. This helps them develop a discerning palate for their
own menu development, and become adept at distinguishing different pastry styles
and recipes. Pastry chef training can lead to a rewarding pastry chef career in
restaurants and the hospitality industry, but many graduates pursue independent
pastry chef careers to open their own catering business or offer services as a
professional pastry maker.
Pastry School
Accreditation and Certification
The Accrediting
Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCST) is the
accrediting party for most baking schools and pastry chef training programs. The
American Culinary Foundation (ACF) and the Cordon Bleu institutions are also
national recognized accrediting agencies.
Pastry Chef
Careers: Earning Potential and Employment Prospects
The
demand for skilled professionals with a culinary arts degree or culinary
training background is on the rise with the increasing number of hotels,
restaurants, resorts, and cafes. The hospitality and leisure industry is
especially attractive for those interested in pastry chef careers, and offers
many options in for cake designers, bakery owners, pastry teachers, or catering
managers. Baking schools offer ample opportunities for a variety of pastry chef
careers, and students who complete pastry chef training at an accredited
organization have stronger chances of success in the field.
Average annual salaries for a pastry chef vary depending on skills, knowledge,
educational background, and experience. Skilled pastry chefs earned between
$37,176 and $60,262 in 2004, and this varies significantly depending on the
establishment and type of position.
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