You’ve probably asked yourself and your friends or family: Should you become a pastry chef? Will it be different compared to sous chef when you go to school? And is it something you’ll enjoy? Find out about the pastry arts and if they are a right fit for you below.
Pastry Chef Training Overview
Your training will certainly be different compared to other types of culinary schooling because it is considered a specialized skillset where you’ll be working exclusively with pastries and baked goods. You could be working in a busy bakery, for a five-star restaurant, in a hotel, or even for yourself!
Training for pastry arts will take about the same time as a general culinary course: between six months to a year. Instead of learning how to cook hot meals, you’ll be getting hands-on training to create high-end pastries and other skills like masterfully decorating cakes.
Once you’re done with your training, you’ll still need to pass a certification exam and work in an apprenticeship for about a year to two years. Afterward, you can work wherever you want as a pastry arts chef.
Pastry Chef Job Overview
As a pastry chef, you’re going to be making all sorts of baked goods, such as cupcakes, cakes, bread, cream-filled pastries, and much more for your customers.
Hours are going to be drastically different when you start a career as a pastry chef, too. You’ll typically be baking and making your creations very early in the morning, sometimes as early as 3:00 to 4:00 AM, instead of working the dinner rush at night, though this will depend on where you’re working.
There is also emphasis put on attention to detail and approximate measurements when it comes to baking and the pastry arts. This is because there’s a lot of science going on behind the scenes in baking. You have to be exact, or it might not come out tasting good.
If you’re passionate about the pastry arts and love baking, then you should enroll to become a pastry chef and pursue your dreams! It will still be hard work and means lots of dedication to the craft, but it will be well worth it.
If you want more information about culinary art schools in your area, fill in the search at the top of the page and one of our career specialists will get in contact with you shortly.
