What Skills Do I Need In Order To Become A Pastry Chef?
Career News July 23, 2014There are culinary professionals who have chosen a specialty, and a pastry chef is an excellent example of just that. Many of us love to bake and create beautiful designs of sweetness to present at different types of parties while others may use baking as a type of therapy and just love to eat the sweets we create.
If you have come to the conclusion that becoming a pastry chef is the path you want to follow as a career, then you will need to first get the education required to become successful. Culinary professionals who specialize as pastry chefs or bakers will specialize in cakes, cookies, chocolates, confections, and plated desserts. They may work in bakeries, hotels, cafés, restaurants, and commercial kitchens.
What Pastry Chef Skills You Ought to Learn
To become a pastry chef, the education recommended is an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Baking and Pastry Arts. This will include two years of classroom and kitchen education and often requires the student to complete an internship in a commercial kitchen, which the student will study under a certified chef.
While it is not mandatory to become certified, many establishments require formal training, education, and experience. Gaining your certification will enable you to demonstrate the needed culinary skills by earning a certification.
Some of the courses that will be taught are baking fundamentals, nutrition, cake design, chocolate arts, confectioneries, specialty cakes, design, plated desserts and presentation, culinary management, and sanitation and safety. The American Culinary Federation (ACF) offers students who register with the department of labor an apprenticeship program that lasts two to three years and provides paid on-the-job training under the instruction and supervision of certified chefs.
The student must also complete twelve formal classes in culinary subjects along with a 90-hour course study in food safety, sanitation, nutrition, and culinary management. In order to become certified, the student must pass a written and practical examination. The certification must be renewed every five years with the completion of 80 hours of continued education hours.
The Salary for Excellent Pastry Chef Skills
According to Salary.com, an assistant pastry chef makes around $39,000 per year and the median percentile is said to be around $64,000, and a regional chef can make around $166,000 per year.
Some of the skills needed are people skills and having the ability to communicate loudly, quickly, and professionally. Fulfilling the needs and wants of the client is also important. One will need food science and chemistry skills to have a good sense of taste, smell, and nutrition.
Additionally, learn to be self-motivated, fast-thinking, organized, and detail-oriented. Since chefs spend many hours on their feet, stamina is also essential to the skills needed. One must have knowledge of design basics, management skills, and business skills. Patience is not only a virtue, but it is also a highly in-demand skill.
Pastry chefs love to create and have a passion for what they do. They also love to please people and enjoy watching them as they lay eyes on the creation of sweetness. This is a field that can bring about different opportunities, whether in the United States or another country.
